Black Jack: Heart Beat
by Cascade Fantasy
Summary: After five years of marriage, Pinoko wants to have a child, but complications prevent her from having one. One day, Black Jack happens to find a little boy who might need some better parents... but can Black Jack protect his new family?
1. Chapter 1: Wish

**Black Jack: Heart Beat**

_Hello! This is the sequel to Black Jack: California Madness or whatever it's called. I forget and I'm too lazy to check! But it's definitely a sequel to something! Please read and review! I DO NOT OWN BLACK JACK!_

**Chapter One**

Black Jack and Pinoko had a blissful and short period of courtship. Within one year, the couple were married. They married in the springtime, in Hokkaido, where they would have the ceremony and also their honeymoon. This way it was cheaper and less stressful, and also it was lovely considering that the cherry blossom trees were blooming generously at this time of year. Pinoko wore a lovely white dress with a lot of lace, and a long train to match. Black Jack wore a simple elegant tuxedo.

They had few people attending the wedding and in fact, Kiriko was the only one that was in their wedding party. (Pinoko had insisted that _SOMEONE _be in the wedding party…) The guests that attended were among Kuwata Konomi and her husband Rock, Kisaragi, and a couple of other doctors that didn't necessarily hate Black Jack. Despite the smallness, it was a beautiful wedding ceremony, and it was a lot of fun.

Five years later, and the couple were doing alright. They were still in love; they were still happily married… Yet of course, for most women around Pinoko's age (which should be about her early thirties), something was missing.

They were sitting in their bed one night, and she was lying there on her side, thinking about things, and Black Jack was reading a book on something medicinal related. She glanced over her shoulder at him, and then sat up.

"Black Jack?"

"Yes?"

"I think we should have kids," she stated firmly and suddenly, not even needing to hesitate.

He stuck a bookmark in his book and shut it slowly. She waited for his response.

"No," he said finally, setting the book aside on the nightstand.

She arched a brow at him. "Well… why not? Shouldn't we have a child before you get too old?"

"I'm _old _now?"

"Well you're older than me. You know what I'm saying."

"I don't understand why you would want one," he admitted. "I mean, they whine, beg, go through various temper tantrums, and they aren't potty trained till at least the age of ten. Why would you want to take care of something like that?"

She paused for a moment, and then it hit her. She turned around to face him.

"Wait a minute—you won't take care of it?"

"Of course I would. But you would be the primary caretaker. You're the mother, and you have more time than I do."

She crossed her arms. "That's sexist."

"Well, it's just common sense." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "And um… I…"

"What?"

"Pinoko." He gently took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "It's not a good idea, okay? Your body can't handle that kind of trauma. You couldn't handle going to school—and now, you want to try going through _labor_?"

She froze, staring up at him. She was slightly horrified.

"I mean, you've had various… surgeries… and medical problems in the past. I don't want to risk it."

She crossed her arms, and bit her lip; turned her head away so he wouldn't see that she was getting a little emotional.

"You know what I find funny, dear? How I can't do anything you don't want me to." Her voice broke slightly, and she wiped at her eyes.

"Pinoko, no."

"Well it's true! I can cook, I can clean, I can assist you in your surgeries and be loving with you, but I can't go to school, and I can't get pregnant…" her lip trembled and she started crying.

"Pinoko, it's not like that. It's never been like that." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Please don't cry."

_Don't you know I can't lose you?_


	2. Chapter 2: Helpless

_Yeah I know that this is going to turn out to be a little OOC, but please bear with me here, because I think that this one is going to have a better plot than the last. 0.o hopefully. It will at least be kind of cuter. As always, read and review!_

**Chapter Two**

A couple of weeks later, Black Jack went into the city to visit an old colleague of his. He strode down the street, paying little attention to anything around him. His mind was partially focused on the conversation that he had with Pinoko previously. Though that night she had been upset, the next morning she had woken up and made him breakfast as if nothing had happened. And he felt bad, he actually felt guilty, because she was hiding her emotions, and she was doing it so as not to bug him.

Black Jack stopped at the crosswalk and looked around at the hundreds of people that were walking with them. They were normal, ordinary people. He and Pinoko weren't like them at all—how could they properly raise a child when Pinoko sometimes acted like a kid herself?

The light signaled for the pedestrians to walk, and he crossed the street, when all of a sudden a loud screeching of tires and a thunderous crash resounded in the air. People started screaming and rushing towards the scene of the crime.

Black Jack turned around and saw the sight before him. A small boy lay underneath the front of a semi truck, his body mangled and bleeding. The truck driver, a portly man, climbed down out of his cabin and surveyed the scene. He grabbed at his hair and kicked the tire of his truck.

"Stupid little kid!" he roared, spit flying from his mouth. "I could go! He shouldn't have crossed the street!"

"Oh my God, somebody call the police!"

"Is anyone here a doctor?"

Black Jack arched a brow and slowly motioned his way over. Seeing the sight of the boy closer up was more gruesome. His abdomen was steadily bleeding, and he had bruises all over his body.

"You," he said, turning to face the driver. "You were speeding weren't you?"

"What! No I wasn't!"

"That was a red light right there," Black Jack said sternly, pointing at the stop light. "If you had just started driving when the boy crossed, he shouldn't have been bit his hard, hurt this badly… you were speeding."

The driver started stammering and stuttering and Black Jack ignored him. He got to his knees and quickly examined the boy, who was groaning in agony.

"Who's the parent of this little boy?" he demanded, surveying the crowd.

Several people seemed to back up as if to say, _Nope! No thank you, I am not responsible! _and stood there in confusion, murmuring amongst themselves. Black Jack's eyes widened as one by one, each member of the crowd denied that they were the boy's parent.

"Are you kidding me? He's four," Black Jack protested, glancing down at the body. "He can't be older than four…"

Once they reached the hospital, Black Jack followed the doctors and nurses to the E.R wing, and gave them a rundown on the diagnostics.

"Several of his internal organs and bones have been crushed in the abdomen area. His heart appears to be working, but barely."

One doctor looked down at the boy and nodded, then shook his head. "We could perform surgery, but it's risky, so we need parental consent."

"Are you kidding me? Screw it!" Black Jack retorted angrily. "I'll do it!"

"You're just a civilian!" one nurse squawked out. "What do you expect to do?"

"No," another nurse protested, touching her on the shoulder. "That's Black Jack, the famous surgeon, remember…?"

So after changing into surgical garb, Black Jack was able to enter the operating room and perform an operation, but was closely assisted by a couple of nurses. He grumbled as he worked, resetting some of the boy's bones, pushing some organs back into place and suturing up any damages. The boy was lucky that his spinal cord wasn't severed—it was probably a miracle.

When the operation was over, he exited and cleaned up, and a nurse then approached him.

"Dr. Black Jack, sir," she said quietly, "we found the boy's aunt and uncle. They're his guardians."

"Oh really?" he arched a brow dryly, and then headed into the E.R lobby.

A pair of overweight, red faced angry people awaited him. When they saw Black Jack, their complaining grew louder and they approached him at lightning speed.

"You should have let him die, Doc!" a short man with glasses spat at him, his jowls trembling as he spoke. "God knows how much you'll charge for his surgery!"

The woman, his wife, crossed her arms and nodded, sticking her nose up in the air. "That idiot child of my sister is not worth 2 million yen to save."

"Weren't all of his organs crushed anyways? The kid is a waste of your time! He'll die anyways!"

Black Jack glared at them coldly, his eyes like lasers. "You can drag your fat ass down to hell."

"What? Excuse me!" the man's face turned bright red and steam might as well have been coming out of his ears.

"Yeah, yeah, I said go to hell," Black Jack quipped. "And as for payment, you can give me the kid. That's the second favor I've done ya."

He turned on his heel and started walking away. He called over his shoulder, not turning to look back at them, "And don't ever say that someone isn't worth saving. Who are you to judge?"

About a day later, the little boy woke up in his hospital bed, and was heavily alarmed. Tears sprang to his eyes as he felt the overwhelming pain in his side, and he started to cry softly. He had no idea what had happened… all he remembered was Auntie chasing after him with a broom, yelling at him to go fetch milk from Mr. Takada's supermarket down the road, and he had tried to cross…

"Hey, kid, quit crying. You're alive, aren't you?"

The boy, sniffling, looked up in wonder at the scary man with the stitched up face standing in the doorway. He wiped away his tears and attempted to sit up, but winced in pain and thought better of it.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Dr. Black Jack. I performed your surgery."

"Oh!" the boy lowered his head respectfully. "T-thank you, mister."

"No problem, kid. What's your name?"

"Yukia."

"Yukia. Nice to meet you."

"Where are my aunt and uncle?"

Black Jack rubbed the back of his head and bit his lip. "Uh… here's the thing kid. You're not likely going to see them again… in fact; you're coming home with me."


	3. Chapter 3: New Challenge

_Hey it's me again! It's been a while since I've updated because I've been kind of busy. I hope the suspense didn't kill you. Kidding. Anyways, this chapter… well, it doesn't really explain much of the legalities as to how Black Jack was able to get custody of Yukia, and I'm not a lawyer, so please don't focus on that. I wonder what people think of Yukia's character… Well anyways, please read and review!_

**Chapter Three**

Pinoko sat on the sofa, staring ahead at the television set, and wringing her hands. She could hardly even pay attention to the soap opera—one of her favorites—as her mind was just completely racing. Black Jack had gone into the city a week ago, and she hadn't heard from him since. She considered calling the police, but then thought that he might already be at the station, and was perplexed as to what she should do. Should she call the police? Or should she wait even longer?

She closed her eyes shut and pushed her cheeks together, then rubbed her temples which were starting to throb. She wouldn't be able to take this much longer… Wait a minute, what was that noise?

She scurried over to the television set and used the dial to turn it off, and then she listened. She could hear the familiar hum of a car engine driving up the dusty dirt road to their house. She raced over to the window, and drew back a corner of the curtain. There was his black car, coming up the road.

She pulled her cleaning bandana off of her head and headed outside to meet him. She stood on the front porch, her arms crossed, feeling a sense of anger rushing over her. He pulled up, shut off the car, and then got out of the vehicle. He silently strode forward, knowing it was best not to look at her because she was _really _angry.

"Honey, what the hell?" she yelled, coming down the steps huffily. "You've been gone for one week, you haven't even called, and I've been worried sick! And another thing—"

He silenced her with a brief, sweet kiss and immediately, her anger went away. She blushed, seeing his smile, and nodded.

"W-Welcome home."

"I'm sorry that I didn't call," he told her seriously. "It would have ruined the surprise."

"Surprise?" her eyes widened, and she stared at him. "Kuro'o, what's going on?"

Black Jack walked back over to the car, and popped open the trunk just as the passenger door opened. A pair of little legs swung out, and Black Jack removed a folded up wheelchair from the back. He unfolded it, wheeled it up to the door, and then lifted Yukia out of the car and into the chair. All the while, Pinoko watched in amazement.

"This, Pinoko," Black Jack said, pushing him forward, "is Yukia."

Yukia lowered his head, biting his lip nervously. He looked utterly miserable, and very quiet. Pinoko could only stare at the boy, her jaw slack, and then she looked up at her husband. She opened her mouth and then…

"Black Jack, you _bought _a kid!" she screamed at him, waving her hands wildly in the air. "That's the most illegal thing you've ever done!"

"No!" he yelled back at her, irritated.

She crossed her arms and then waited for him to explain. He gestured to Yukia with a sweep of his arm and then spoke.

"His guardians hated him and were unwilling to pay my fees, so I had them sign over custody to me."

Pinoko gaped, and turned around to stare at the little boy, whose misery only seemed to increase the further this conversation went on. Yukia was shaking slightly, and he glanced up at Pinoko from underneath his long, black bangs.

_She seems like a nice and pretty lady, _he thought. _But I don't think she likes me… what if she doesn't like me? Do I have to go back to my aunt and uncle? _

"Honey," she said, shaking her head and putting a hand to her forehead, "this is _nuts! _He's a little kid!"

"Pinoko, you were the one going on and on about having a baby!" Black Jack retorted.

"This isn't a baby! This is a little boy! There's a big difference!"

Suddenly Yukia's trembling; tearful voice brought him to their attention.

"Sorry… I'm so sorry," he whispered, keeping his eyes trained on the ground.

Pinoko's composure softened and she smiled warmly down at him, now feeling guilty for what she had said.

"There's nothing to apologize for. Don't worry." She murmured, crouching down to his level.

Yukia looked up and stared at her, big tears accumulating in the corners of his eyes. He sniffled slightly.

"You're not going to get rid of me?"

"Of course not," she told him, glancing up at Black Jack. "I'm very sorry. We must have frightened you."

She brushed away his tears. "Yukia. Welcome home."

And he laughed.

Black Jack tiptoed down the hallway later that night, hearing Pinoko's voice echoing out from the small room at the end of the hall. It had been quickly made into a makeshift bedroom with only a cot, a nightstand and a lamp, but in time, it would have Yukia's mark on it.

He stepped close to the door frame, and peeked inside. Pinoko was curled up with Yukia on his bed, and she was reading him a story book. The two looked very happy and content together.

_Maybe I was wrong, _Black Jack thought. _She could definitely be a mother. _

Yukia's eyes suddenly fluttered and he started to doze off against Pinoko's shoulder, and Pinoko gently closed the book, and slipped off of the bed. She gently pulled back the covers and tucked him in, then shut off the light and exited the room.

"He's quite a sweetheart," she said to her husband, beaming. "He said that I was pretty and nice."

"Well I say that about you too," Black Jack mumbled, kind of quiet. "It's nothing new."

She giggled and asked, "What, are you jealous?"

"No. No, no really."

Pinoko rolled her eyes and headed into their bedroom. He came in as well and shut the door behind them. Pinoko started to change into her night gown and he stood there, watching her.

"You're happy, right?"

"Huh?" she asked, pulling the gown over her head. She released her hair from the collar of the gown and looked at him in slight confusion.

"You asked if I was happy?"

He nodded. She blushed, smiled, and came over to him. She grabbed his hands and squeezed them tightly.

"Honey, I'm always happy, since I'm with you. And now with Yukia, I have a reason to be even happier."

"Yes, Pinoko, I know, but… if we didn't have Yukia… if we didn't… have children."

Pinoko blinked. "Well I suppose I'll be just as happy as I am now. I mean, I wasn't expecting for you to do this." She laughed a little. "I thought that it was okay, I understood why we couldn't have children of our own, and so I'd just… learn to bypass those feelings."

"I… I don't think I want you to."

"Eh?" she looked up at him.

"I mean, I want you to want things in life, and be able to get to them, Pinoko. I want you to be able to be a mother, and I wanted you to go to school just as much as you did. I don't want you waking up years later regretting everything because you couldn't do anything you wanted to."

She smiled and cupped his face in her hands. "Black Jack. I'm happy, please know that. I won't have regrets later on in life, because now I am a mother and I am a wife. And I won't regret any of that."

She hugged him tightly, and he embraced her as well. He smiled as he set his chin atop her head and pulled her closer. Yes, she was happy. And he was too.


	4. Chapter 4: Alarming Test

_Hello! Another chapter… to a long fanfic. Some of you might have noticed that I changed the rating from K+ to T, just because I'm a bit worried about what might happen in the future for this fanfic, so I just changed it to be safe. This is a longer chapter, so I'm definitely happy. As always please read and review!_

**Chapter Four**

Yukia, over the next two months, continued his long road to recovery. He still had to be in the wheelchair because his legs were pretty much useless. He spent his days in his room, watching and semi helping Pinoko decorate it to his liking. After the first week he had spent living there, Pinoko had taken out all the furniture and set to work on painting it. They painted it blue, and Yukia wanted white fluffy clouds, and then he also wanted a dragon, so he painted this creepy bug eyed dragon on his wall. When he had finished it, him and Pinoko just laughed at it for a while and then ignored it, deciding that it would be an alright edition to the walls. Once the room was finished, they replaced some of the furniture (exchanged the cot for an actual bed) and added a few more items to it: a desk with a chair, a dresser, a bookshelf, and then a nice shaggy rug.

"Do you like your new room?" Pinoko had asked him once they finished.

"I love it!" he said, giggling, and Pinoko smiled.

This was the first time she had seen Yukia smile. He was quite a solemn, polite child, one that was good at following orders, and didn't talk back. It took him a while to get him to start talking, but once he did, he emerged from his shell of shyness and could blabber on for about half an hour before he thought others lost interest and then stopped.

It was after these two months that he spent mainly bonding with Pinoko that she went up to her husband and pulled him aside for a small talk. Yukia was outside in the main room watching television—some show that Pinoko had introduced him to—and wasn't really paying attention.

"I think that you should bond with Yukia," she told Black Jack quietly.

"Uh… okay. Why?"

"Because he's your son; he's been here for two months, and you haven't talked to him." Pinoko arched a brow.

"I've talked to him."

"_Hardly._" Pinoko pulled him out silently into the hallway and pointed to Yukia, who was sitting in an armchair, intently watching the show.

"Look at him!" she whisper-shouted. "He looks just like you!"

"Pinoko…" he glanced over at her, smiling slightly. "He's not ours."

"I know!" she said with a happy sigh.

Then she glared at her husband. "But would it kill ya to interact with the kid?"

He sighed and nodded, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling. "No, it wouldn't. Okay, we'll do something."

So on the weekend, Black Jack set aside a day for which he would go and spend some time with Yukia. Pinoko had insisted that she was going to need them "out of the house for cleaning," so he went into Yukia's room and asked him what he wanted to do.

Yukia, who was sitting on his bed, had swung his legs a little bit and then answered quietly, "I want to go swimming."

He looked up. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, we live on a beach front and all. Why don't you put on your swimsuit and pack a bag of toys or something?"

"…Okay," Yukia responded, and then Black Jack nodded curtly and exited the room.

Pinoko was standing in the kitchen, and she looked over excitedly at him once he entered.

"He says that he wants to go swimming, so that's what we're going to do. Do I even own a pair of swim trunks?"

"Yeah. In the bottom drawer of the dresser that's full of things that we never use. It's got a t shirt in there too."

"Alright, then I'm going to change."

After ten minutes they were finally all ready to go and so they started off on the long walk back down the driveway, away from the cliff. There was a beach that was kind of private, and that you could only access by carefully navigating your way down a staircase of rock. Black Jack figured that if he put Yukia on his shoulders, he could avoid any possibly messy accidents. The kid's life had been full of them.

Just a while ago, after his conversation with Pinoko, Black Jack had actually pulled up the file that he had on Yukia, and had read it. In it, it had stated that Yukia's only surviving family had been his aunt and uncle. He was a child born out of wedlock, and his father had abandoned his mother once he found out that she was pregnant. He was never seen from again. And then after that, his mother, Fuyumi, had died in a car accident when he was two months old. Yukia's childhood had been riddled with incidences of dehydration and being severely underweight. He was only four years old.

Yukia glanced over his shoulder and blinked. "Papa? What's wrong?"

Black Jack's eyebrows rose. "What did you call me?"

"P…papa?" he asked nervously, his voice dropping to a whisper barely audible.

Black Jack was truly surprised, but he tried not to show it. He smiled at the kid and said, "Come on then, let's go swimming."

"Um…" Yukia stretched out his hand towards his. "Mama holds my hand for safety."

Black Jack held his hand gently as they walked along. He could briefly recall, with flashes of memories running through his mind, when he had walked along the beach with his mother, and had been this happy. If he dug back really deep into his mind, he could remember one day when he had spent time with his father, and his father had held his hand as well. But it was only that one day that he had in his memory. Nothing else, really.

_He's a really cute kid_, Black Jack thought. _He's nice, quiet, and doesn't get in the way of work. Pinoko and I are lucky to have him._

They finished their walk down to the rocky stairs and made their way down. Yukia pulled off his shirt and reached into his little bag to find an action figure he had brought along. He saw the other thing that was hidden away in the bag, and quickly shied away. He glanced over at his father nervously. How would he react if he knew? He wasn't going to steal it, after all—he had just wanted to look at it; it was cool.

They got in the water and Yukia paddled around a little bit, and Black Jack floated around as well. Yukia came up to him then and started talking.

"You know how big sharks can get?" he asked him. "_Huge!"_ he spread his hands far apart to demonstrate.

"You won't likely find them so close to shore, though," Black Jack told him. "So if you're worried, you don't have to be."

"I hope not," Yukia said, and then dove underneath the water.

He came up five minutes later and then paddled around for a little while until he talked to him again.

"Hey, do you like being a doctor?"

"Yeah," Black Jack responded with a grin. "I make a lot of money off of it."

"Oh. Can… can I be a doctor like you?"

"Sure, why not? As long as you don't goof off in school, I don't see what could hold you back."

"…Can I be a better doctor than you?"

Black Jack laughed and splashed him a little bit. "Ha! I'd live to see the day."

Yukia giggled and splashed him back, and then the two of them engaged in a playful little fight.

Pinoko watched them from a distance. She stood outside, hanging up the clothes on the clothesline, and smiled when she saw them playing.

"Looks like they're getting along," she mumbled between the clothespins in her mouth.

She hung up a shirt, and then glanced over her shoulder. She narrowed her eyes and saw in the distance, a car speeding up the driveway. It kicked up what was practically a dust storm, swirling all around.

She stiffly stood there, and glanced over towards the beach. Black Jack must not have heard it, because he was still playing with Yukia. The car was fast approaching. Pinoko turned on her heel and rushed back inside the house. She drew the curtains and locked the door and crouched beneath a window.

She heard a vicious, urgent pounding on the door and then screamed when she heard the lock being broken. A man kicked open the door and two more flowed in, carrying the body of an injured man. They all appeared to be armed with pistols, and probably more.

"Where's the doctor!" a man bellowed, glaring at her.

Pinoko, trembling, returned the furious glare. "He's not here right now."

"Well tell us where he is!" another ganged up on her, aiming his pistol at her forehead. "And do the op for free; otherwise, I'll shoot your brains out."

Pinoko then started to scream.

"BLACK JACK! BLACK JACK!"

The gunshot that followed echoed out, and brought Black Jack to attention immediately.

"Pinoko!" he shouted.

He picked up Yukia and took him out of the water. There was a crevice in the cliff wall, where Yukia could easily fit in and hide.

"Yukia, stay in here." He said, gently pushing Yukia inside the crevice.

Black Jack pulled his shirt on over his head and Yukia stared, his heart thumping wildly in fear.

"Papa—"

"_Yukia, stay there_!" Black Jack shouted over his shoulder heatedly. "If you hear another gunshot, then I want you to run for it."

Black Jack rushed up the stairs and then sprinted back to the house as fast as he could. He saw the black car—a foreign muscle car, definitely, black and sleek, sitting outside of their house. Black Jack came into the house and threw open the door, where he was immediately seized by two men and thrown back against the wall roughly. Pinoko, who was tied up in the corner and gagged; her eyes flashed. A man laid in front of their sofa, slowly bleeding out from a gunshot wound.

"Make sure that little wretch is tied up," one man instructed. From the look of him, it was obvious that Pinoko had not gone down without a fight. His shoulder looked damaged, and he had a large bite mark on his hand that had drawn some blood.

"Got it," another answered, his black eyes, glancing over at her.

Black Jack wrestled himself free from his captors furiously.

"Hey! Unhand her immediately!"

He stomped over and was undisturbed as he removed the gag and untied her wrists.

"Can I _please _sign up for some self defense classes?" she begged, glancing back at him.

"Let's talk later, okay?" he asked her, removing the rope.

A pistol then was aimed at his head.

"I don't remember you saying you could touch the girl, did I?"

Black Jack's eyes glanced behind him, where he saw one the fatter men standing there over him, a smug smile on his face.

"You're being stupid. She's my assistant. I need her."

Yukia sat crouched inside the crevice, trembling violently. He hoped that he hadn't been abandoned… Papa wouldn't have done that, would he?...

He then heard another gunshot and he jumped, and released a short yell. His worried eyes trailed up to the house. He quickly grabbed his bag, and shoved his action figure inside of it. He struggled up the steps, but managed to get back onto higher ground.

And of course, when you tell small children to avoid danger, they are going to run right towards it: like Yukia did. He remained silent though at least, and ran along the right side of the cliff to keep out of sight.

He crouched down beneath one of the windows that had a bullet blown threw it, as evident by the spider web of cracks.

"Hey!" a voice growled thunderously. "I warned you!"

Yukia clasped both hands over his mouth to avoid making any sound.

"Ronny, what the hell are you doing! You're wasting bullets!"

"Well they weren't hit!"

Then Yukia heard the voices of his parents. His father's concerned voice asking her if she was okay, and her quick, anxious response that she was okay, and that they should just do the op.

"Mama… Papa!" Yukia whispered fearfully.

Maybe that thing in his bag would help him now…? But he couldn't take on the bad guys. He was just a little thing. His eyes trailed up and over to the car.

Oh yes. That would work perfectly.


	5. Chapter 5: The End Result

**Chapter Five **

The man that had been formerly lying on the ground was now lifted up and carried over into the operating room that was sealed away in a corner of the house. The operation was a little difficult, because the bullet was lodged rather close to the heart, and on top of that, the coating that surrounded the bullet seemed to be kind of falling off. Black Jack had to be careful that he removed all the pieces of shrapnel as well as the bullet.

It was a long operation, and once they were finished, Black Jack was thoroughly sweating. Pinoko's willing eyes focused on him, helping him, but also at the same time, asking questions. Was Yukia going to be okay? Where was he?

As soon as they had finished, Black Jack went outside and started to distract the shady men in his living room while Pinoko grabbed a phone and dragged it with her into the bathroom. She locked the door and crouched down near the toilet, and dialed the number for the police.

"Hello?" Pinoko whispered into the phone. "I need police assistance."

She waited a moment, and then narrowed her eyes at the phone.

"Yeah, it's the doctor's house, of course. Look, please just—"

One of the men threw open the door, and gave her a nasty sharp toothed smile.

"Who are you on the phone with, girly?" he demanded, his eyes flashing.

He grabbed her, and smacked her roughly. Pinoko uttered no words, but allowed herself to be dragged out of the bathroom.

"Damn it," one of the men growled murderously, "that little bitch called the cops!"

"Quick! Get Ronny into the car!" another man yelled. "Let's not waste any time!"

Black Jack said nothing, and was solemnly silent, keeping his eyes trained on the ground.

Three men surrounded Ronny and picked him up and carried him out the door, while another man stayed behind and left a gun trained on Black Jack and Pinoko. Both were now more fearful than they were before. What if they somehow found Yukia?

"Damn it!" they heard someone roar.

The man who was in the house gave them a wary glare and then headed outside to investigate what the problem was.

"Who deflated the tires on our car?"

"I don't know!"

"We were watching them the whole time!"

And here, Black Jack grinned smugly, and took Pinoko's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Yukia ran alongside the path again, hurrying as fast as his small little legs could carry him. His chest was hurting—he hadn't ever run this hard in his life—and his heart was thumping so hard it was amazingly loud. In one hand, he grasped it—one of Black Jack's scalpels (_Yeah it's probably pretty hard to cut open the tires with a scalpel, but hey, these are pretty high grade scalpels, and also this is fiction! Yay!)_

He saw a small police cruiser then charging up the road, its lights flashing and horn blaring. Yukia stopped and the car halted as well. A police officer climbed out and confusedly looked at the boy.

"Whoa! Kid what are you doing?"

Yukia panted a little and then broke down in a hysterical, terrified little kid tantrum, bawling.

"Whoa, kid calm down!"

Three more police cruisers soon joined the lone officer and together they drove up and apprehended the criminals quite easily. An ambulance was also there, to rush the injured Ronny to a hospital (for when they moved him, his stitches ended up coming undone). After the investigation was said and done, the officer lead Yukia up to his parents. He was still bawling like a little baby.

"Excuse me, is this child yours?" the officer asked nervously, glancing down at the kid.

"Yukia!" Pinoko clutched at him and pulled him in for a hug. She gave him multiple kisses and wiped away his tears.

"Kid, why the heck are you crying?" Black Jack demanded gently. "We're fine!"

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't run away like you told me to!" he sobbed. "And I… I took one of your scalpels! I used it to pop the bad man's tires, and i-it broke!"

Black Jack narrowed his eyes and then ordered, "Yukia, hold out your hand."

Yukia stretched out and uncurled his fingers that had been closed into a fist. Bloody scratches and gashes were all over his hand. Pinoko even gasped. It looked awful.

"Your hand is cut really bad, Yukia. When exactly did you take it?"

"I took it… yesterday. I thought it looked cool. I was going to give it back, I swear!"

Black Jack released Yukia's hand and sort of glared at him coolly.

"Well I'm definitely not very happy. But let's go clean up your hand."

Black Jack was completely silent as he stitched up and cleaned and treated Yukia's hand. Yukia could detect the tension in the room—anyone could. It made him want to cry again. When his uncle yelled at him, it was better than the silence that Black Jack was giving him. He just wanted to be forgiven.

"I'm sorry, Papa," he called out when Black Jack had left the room.

Black Jack hadn't responded. He was unreadable at this moment. He remained this way for the rest of the day, and didn't really talk to Yukia. What happened to this afternoon when they had been playing? When they had been happy, and he had called him "Papa"?

"Is Papa not going to forgive me?" he woefully asked of Pinoko later that night.

Pinoko smiled sympathetically and tousled his hair affectionately. "Yukia, he's just mad. He's grumpy sometimes. You understand what you did was a bad thing. But you did a good thing too. You helped catch the bad men."

She continued, "You helped catch the bad men. I'm sure he's more angry by the fact that you were in danger than that you broke his scalpel."

Later on, she did address this issue with Black Jack. As she was climbing into their bed that night, she glanced over at him. He was already trying to sleep, and the light on his side had been turned off.

"You should forgive him," she told him, focusing her eyes on the ceiling. "He's really sad. And it's really hard on him when you do stuff like that."

"I will tomorrow."

"Kuro'o. He's not like me. He can't handle that 'wait for tomorrow' business. He needs acceptance." She smiled at him. "He's a lot like you."

"I wasn't that big of a crier when I was little."

"Don't call him a crybaby."

"I didn't."

"You wanted to," she returned, rolling her eyes. "And I bet you that you were. And when… when that situation happened with your mom… and your father, too… that made it worse. It made you cold. It made you distant."

_And then you happened, _he thought, blushing; hoping that she wouldn't see him. _You happened and then I had to loosen up. I had to change. You couldn't live with someone like that. _

"I was worried about him. He could have gotten caught. He could have stabbed the tire and the scalpel wouldn't have dug in and shot back at his face."

"It's nice to see that you're worried about him."

"He's our son, isn't he?"

She smiled and then kissed him sweetly. "'Night honey."

She shut off the light and then rolled onto her side and he snuggled up behind her as he usually did.


	6. Chapter 6: Adjusting

_This chapter is pretty much fluff—but I hope you like it, and believe me, there will be more chapters. As always, read and review please. _

**Chapter Six**

"Oi, focus!"

"Huh?" Black Jack raised his head to see his wife, standing there with a broom in her grasp and a hand placed impatiently on her hip.

It was about a week after the incident with the so called "Jaakuna Gyangu" or the "Wicked Gang," as they had found out in the paper the following morning. The gang was responsible for embezzlement, murder, bribery of government officials, and various other things. It appeared that they had gotten into a scrap with a bank owner in a deal a short distance away, and that was why Ronny had gotten shot.

"I'm trying to dust up the place and you're kind of in the way." She indicated that he needed to lift his feet up off of the ground.

He looked around slightly confused. "Hey, where's Yukia?"

"He's outside playing," she told him, sweeping up under his feet. "Why, what is it?"

"I keep thinking that I'm forgetting to do something," Black Jack told her, propping his chin up on his fist.

She stared back at him and blinked, thinking for a moment. "Huh. I don't know of anything…"

He suddenly jumped to his feet and rushed to his study. He went to the file cabinet and pulled out Yukia's file, opened it and read through it.

"Ah, there!" he pointed to a piece of paper.

Pinoko appeared in the doorway. "What is it?"

"Yukia's birthday is tomorrow," Black Jack announced with a slight smile, looking at Pinoko.

"His birthday?"

"Yep. His fifth birthday."

"Wow," she whispered, and then she looked suddenly frightened. "Acchonburike!" she cried out. "What are we going to do? We don't even have any presents, and I haven't made a cake—"

"—We can get all of that done," Black Jack promised, trying to calm her down. "So relax."

She arched a brow skeptically at him. "Alright then, but we need to make a plan, understand?"

"Yeah, I get it. Don't worry, we'll think of something."

The very next morning when Yukia woke up, he found that the house was oddly silent. Usually in the mornings he could hear his parents conversing pleasantly while his mother cooked breakfast and his father read the paper, and he heard none of that. Yukia climbed out of bed and went into the living room to go investigate.

He gasped when he saw the colorful banner and streamers hanging from the ceiling. In great big bubbly letters, it read, "Happy 5th birthday, Yukia!" And underneath it stood Black Jack and Pinoko, happily awaiting him.

Yukia was dazzled and confused. "It's my birthday?" he asked them.

The two just nodded in unison. He smiled happily.

"I've never had a birthday, like, party before."

Pinoko smiled and hugged him tightly. "Well, now you have."

It was just a small little party with the three of them, sitting around their kitchen table by the window, eating and talking and laughing… Later on in the day they opened up presents, and Yukia received a couple of action figures and a remote control motorcycle, as well as a couple of books (Black Jack had suggested that they get some sort of practical gift.)

Once it was the night, they sat down in front of the television and watched a movie. Black Jack sat on the floor with Yukia and helped him learn to operate his new toy. Pinoko shrieked when the motorcycle attempted to run over her foot, and that was when Yukia just gently put it off to the side and crawled up onto the couch. He snuggled up next to her. Black Jack left to use the bathroom, and when he returned, the typical sweet scene of a sleeping mother and child, illuminated by the blue light from the television.

He took a minute, leaning up against the doorframe, watching them with a soft smile on his face, and then realized something.

He was going to have to carry them _both _to bed.


	7. Chapter 7: Think of Me

_Yay! We have officially stepped into part two of the story... that was a LOT of back story (and might at some points been unnecessary, but whatever. Me write what me likey.) This is the part that I was concerned with so that I changed the rating to T, that and other parts that I will later write in the story as well… R&R as always! (Esplandian, I know you always do. I count on you for your input! And you are greatly appreciated. I accredited someone once for reviewing though and then they never reviewed again… I think I creeped them out… I hope this isn't creepy… I'm sorry if it is!) Oh well! Thanks and onward to reading! _

**Chapter Seven**

The entire little seaside town was alive and bustling with the noises and colors of a Japanese festival. There were various entertaining games to be won; in the distance a Ferris wheel loomed enticingly in the distance with various other amusement park attractions. Everything smelled delicious due to the various dishes being cooked in the booths lining the streets: bowls of udon noodles, takoyaki, various seafood dishes and onigiri were being sold at record speeds. Toys hung in these booths as well, tempting small children who passed by with their parents to jump and beg and harass them into buying the toys for them.

Pinoko and Black Jack were the victims of this festival, due to the fact that everything Yukia saw excited him to the point that it seemed he was going to totally freak out. He pointed at everything and rushed around to all the stands. There were several instances at which they had almost lost him in the schools of people crammed into the streets.

"Mama!" Yukia had cried out, running back towards them.

Pinoko took the opportunity to grab his hand and take it tightly. "No more running around!"

"Sorry." Yukia hung his head a little. "I'm really excited. This is cool."

"It's your first festival isn't it?" Black Jack asked, glancing down at him.

Yukia nodded eagerly. "Uncle and Auntie never attended them. I don't ever remember going to one, at least…"

"Well we do have a budget for while we're here, you know," Pinoko advised him. "So I don't think we should waste all the money we have on toys…"

She pointed to the Ferris wheel in the distance. "What about the big wheel, Yukia? Why don't we go on that?"

"You want to go on _that?_" Black Jack mumbled uncertainly, glancing up at it.

It was incredibly tall, of course, but probably taller than most wheels were. It was slightly intimidating despite the wonderful colors.

"Yes! Let's go on it," Pinoko said, hugging his arm. "Oh, don't you remember?... We went on this years ago."

He smiled, recalling the memory. He had always been busy with a case or something such as that, so he couldn't attend the festivals very easily. But that day, five years ago, he had taken the time off to go there with her. Pinoko had dressed up in a cute pair of cut offs and a tank top; putting her hair up in pigtails. At night, after walking around and playing the games, he had kissed her on the Ferris wheel just as the fireworks had gone off over near the ocean waters. It was quite the picture perfect memory that you would find in a movie…

And it was the night that he had decided that he had wanted to marry her.

And various other things had happened as well afterwards, but that wasn't an appropriate time to be remembering those kinds of things.

Yukia had been terrified at first when it had creaked and groaned on the way up, and when he had looked over the edge of the cabin he marveled at how small even the town hall building looked.

Pinoko sat next to her husband happily, surveying Yukia as his eyes focused on the city beneath them. She smiled, turning her head to look at Black Jack. He glanced over at her, and she kissed him on the lips sweetly.

"I love you," she whispered, closing her eyes and leaning back against the seat; a light blush now present on her ever-lovely face.

He squeezed her hand in return. He didn't need to say anything.

The Ferris wheel finished its cycle before gently lowering each cabin down onto the ground and allowing its passengers to exit. Pinoko reached into the purse she was carrying and pulled out a Polaroid camera to take pictures with. Yukia shot a couple pictures of his parents in front of the Ferris wheel, then he stepped in and posed with his father, and then with his mother.

They took several more pictures throughout the day… they passed by food booths, bought small mind boggling toys, watched interesting games, and then at the end of the night, gathered on the open plains area with the other residents to watch the fireworks. One by one, they launched into the sky, glittering at first, and then exploding into something that was dazzling beyond compare.

Yukia fell asleep immediately after the fireworks had ended. After all, he was five years old. Pinoko this time, hoisted him up and carried him home in her arms. They walked along the road, talking a little bit, but mainly remaining quiet.

Pinoko glanced up at her husband from time to time and saw that he had this everlasting cheerful smile plastered on his face, oddly enough. He wasn't a typically cheerful person.

"You seem happy, hmm?" she commented.

"Happy?" he repeated, glancing back down at her.

She nodded. "You're smiling so much more these days… It's nice to see."

_Well, _he thought, _I'm not longer living a life of solitude. _

All at once, the events of the past six and a half years of his life came rushing back into his mind as he pieced together who he was now.

_Here I am now. A wife. A kid. I have a typical family… Well, sort of… _he continued inside his head. _I didn't think I'd ever end up here… like this. But I'm happy that I did. _

A couple of weeks later, Black Jack headed out to the city to perform a plastic surgery on another wealthy older woman. It was rather far away, on a private island located near Shikoku, so he wouldn't be able to take Yukia and Pinoko with him.

"Have a good trip, honey," Pinoko had murmured before giving him a kiss on the cheek while he was leaving.

"Yep, thanks." He grinned and picked up two suitcases, one with his personal belongings, another with his medical equipment.

He nodded to Yukia, who was waiting patiently in the doorway as if wanting permission for something. At his nod, Yukia sprinted out and hugged his legs tightly.

"Bye, Papa!"

Black Jack tousled his hair and nodded again before loading the suitcases and climbing into the car. He drove away, glancing back in his rearview mirror at their house.

The operation was complicated due to the fact that the women micro-managed everything that she wanted corrected. Higher placed cheekbones. A thinner, sleeker nose, and she also wanted her eyebrows to have more of an arch to them, and she wanted her forehead to be smooth and wrinkle free. She also wanted her skin to be cleared of any blemishes or liver spots, otoplasty, liposuction, and implants within her lips.

While it was a ridiculous list of demands for a woman of only sixty and also ridiculously expensive, Black Jack performed the surgeries successfully (and made sure that it wasn't overdone as well) and collected his payment.

Before heading out on the long drive home he called Pinoko and let her know that she was coming home.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Cleaning, baking…" Pinoko mumbled in an easy going manner. "Just the usual."

"Oh. Alright. Well I should be home soon."

"We're making you a special cake for when you come home. It was Yukia's idea." Pinoko giggled.

"Is that so? I'm looking forward to it."

"Yep. Oh—Yukia! Gosh! _If the timer went off why didn't you say anything—_Black Jack, I got to go. Have a safe trip home."

"Yep," he said, nodding in agreement. "Goodbye."

"Wait!" she cried out suddenly.

He groaned impatiently. "What?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"I love you."

"I love you too," he answered in a grumble that most certainly did not convey that he loved her. "Okay, bye."

He hung up and then climbed into his car and then started to drive home. He drove across the oceans, past the island of Shikoku, towards Honshu, onward to home. The sun was beginning to set and he yawned, contemplating whether or not he should pull over for the night and rest at an inn. He decided against it, since he didn't want to spend any extra money. Besides, he would be able to make it.

Suddenly, there was a ringing noise that echoed throughout the cabin of the car. Startled, Black Jack looked around confusedly. Was that…?

He slid back the top of a small hideaway that held a car phone. He glanced down and saw that it was ringing. How odd. He had rarely used this phone, and didn't think that Pinoko knew the number…

He pulled over and put his vehicle in park, then turned off the car. He reached out and answered the phone.

"Hello?" he said.

There was nothing but a slight breathing on the phone. Black Jack's blood suddenly ran cold. He instantly had a premonition that this was not going to end well.

"Hel—"

"—Good evening!" suddenly a voice burst out over the phone.

Black Jack winced at the loud voice and held the phone a little ways away from his ear.

"Who are you? Why are you calling me?" Black Jack demanded irritably.

"Ah, yes, you must be Doctor Black Jack… they told me you were a rather grouchy man. Listen, Black Jack. I need to talk to you about something."

"If you tell me who you are."

"Who am I?" the man's voice dropped several octaves, to a level of noise that was almost demon like. "I am the man that you don't want to screw with right now, Black Jack. So I'd drop the pissy tone, eh?"

Black Jack swallowed slightly, furrowing his brow. He listened intently.

"See, Black Jack, I believe that a couple of my boys had a little run in with you a while back. Do you remember? The Jaakuna Gyangu?"

Black Jack snarled, "What the hell do you want?"

"Ah, so you don't know." The man paused. "See, Ronny, he's my brother. My dearly beloved brother. You remember him. With the gunshot wound. You operated on him… you have to have remembered him."

"I remember him. I think I would remember the cause of the incident that terrorized my family."

There was a gunshot then over the phone and the man snarled into the phone, "That was strike two. Try me again."

"Proceed, please."

"Ronny, my brother, died. On the ambulance ride to the hospital, his stitches ripped open and died right there. Seems that you did a shoddy job on the operation, eh?"

"I don't ever do amateur jobs on my patients," Black Jack growled in response. "I don't know what you're talking about. If his stitches ripped open, then your men shouldn't have caused such a ruckus and rushed him out of there—"

"—then your wife shouldn't have called the police. And oh by the way, Ronny wouldn't have died if your little orphan boy hadn't slashed up the tires of that nice Italian car I had."

Black Jack dragged a hand over his face and waited for the man to continue.

"I am someone that you don't want to play games with Black Jack. And the minute Ronny died, you got thrown into a game with me. And now we're going to play."

"Who are you?"

"I am known by many names of course. Some call me a murderer. Some call me a sadist. Others call me Kyobona, the Berserk."

The man chuckled darkly over the phone, almost maniacally. Black Jack's spine shivered.

"I will play no games with you, with a man who cannot even show his face."

"You wouldn't want to meet me face to face, Doctor. I don't have a pretty face. Trust me." he chuckled once again. "On the other hand, your wife does… You've got a very pretty wife, Black Jack. She's making you a cake right now. Frosting it with that little abandoned boy of yours. Tell me, how good is she?"

"_Hey!_" Black Jack cried out sharply. "You do not touch her!"

He turned the key in the ignition and pulled back out onto the highway, pressing down on the accelerator determinedly.

"Damn, it's such a shame. Personally, if I were in a nicer mood, I'd just take her and lock her up somewhere for my own enjoyment. The little boy, he would die either way. I've got no need for a charity case."

"You're disgusting!"

"Heh, right, I'm disgusting for saying that about your wife. Aren't you the same? You built a little girl who served you for so many years, right? And you kind of tossed her around for a while, didn't you? Everything says that she was crazy in love with you…"

"What are you…?"

"I know _everything _about you, your wife, and your kid. Your name has circled around so many times it's hard not to know."

Black Jack pounded the steering wheel. "Leave them alone! Look, I'm the one that performed the operation—"

"—Oh, Black Jack, if only you were the only one involved!" he cried out then, sucking in air through his teeth in mock disappoint. Black Jack could hear him pounding down on something. "But you weren't! Your little fabulous wife played assistant, your boy prevented my men's escape. So everyone should be punished, shouldn't they? Since they had an equal involvement in Ronny's death…"

Black Jack glanced up at the highway signs and saw that the exit leading to his town was right ahead of him. He switched into the lane and quickly sped up, weaving around the cars.

"No! They're still innocent! You're willing to blame a five year old kid for the death of your brother?"

"Oh, so you would prefer I just killed your wife?"

"NO!" Black Jack roared. "DON'T TOUCH HER!"

"Black Jack… ah, ah, ah." He clicked his tongue against his teeth in disapproval. "Oh, you just can't behave, can you?"

"Leave her alone! Leave them alone! I'm going to be home soon, and then you can have me! You can do whatever the hell you want with me! Leave them alone!"

"But then I can't punish you all properly! It's not enough if just you dies! In fact, I don't want you to die, Black Jack…" his voice snarled at him. "I want you to feel the same pain I feel. When your blood, when your kin, dies right before you have a chance to say goodbye."

Black Jack bent his head and his pleading screams begged for reconciliation.

"Please, no…"

"No matter how you beg, it's not going to change my opinion."

Black Jack hung up the phone and sped up at an unbelievably high speed. He grumbled and cursed under his breath and eventually, approached the town. He careened through the streets, his tires practically on fire, leaving black skid marks slashed across the path behind him.

He was approaching the cliff, and his brakes screeched as he pressed down on them. He got out of the car and then sprinted up towards the house, shouting for Pinoko, shouting for Yukia. He knew what was coming. It was so predictable… it was so foolproof…

Just as he had reached about 50 feet from the house, an explosion echoed through the air. Plumes of pure black smoke burst up, mingling with the night sky and killing the stars and the view of the moon. The fiery wood, stone and glass remains of the house splintered the sky, springing outwards and in all directions. Black Jack was on his knees, trembling violently. He watched in horror as everything he had loved; everything he had ever cared about…

Become lost to the mass chaos of the flames as the night wore on.


	8. Chapter 8: Shattered

**Chapter Eight**

_Black Jack approached the door, lurking quietly behind the corner. He could hear Pinoko whining in frustration as she hurried to fix her hair and make last minute adjustments to her gown. He chuckled to himself. _

"_Pinoko." He knocked on the door. "Come on, the pastor's waiting."_

"_Black Jack!" she shrieked in fear and then something fell over with a loud bang. "Oh…!"_

_He shrugged his shoulders and then opened the door and entered the room. His view of Pinoko was obstructed by her fluffy white dress covered with ribbons. She was picking up a lamp that had fallen on the floor but had thankfully not broken. _

_She turned and then saw him standing there, and his eyebrows rose. Pinoko had always been pretty before, but today, as any bride should look, she was beautiful. Purely and simply beautiful. Her reddish brown hair had been braided and twisted in an up do, with two strands curling around each side of her face. Her gown had soft pink little ribbons and white lace that made her look like she was glowing. Her makeup made her eyelashes thick and long and black, and her cheeks were rosy and sweet. _

"_W…" he couldn't even get the word "wow" out. _

_Her eyes widened in fear and she covered her mouth with both hands. "Acchonburike! Black Jack why are you in here!"_

"_Something fell over so I came into help. And also, the pastor is waiting…"_

"_Oh no! No, why did you come in here?" she groaned dramatically, freaking out. _

_Black Jack tilted his head in confusion. "What? What's wrong?"_

"_This is bad luck, you know! We're not supposed to see each other till we're at the altar…" she looked like she was on the verge of tears. _

"_Pinoko, Pinoko, calm down." He came up to her and took her hands, giving them a squeeze. "It's not that big of a deal."_

"_Don't you want us to be happy and to start off on the right foot? No bad luck?"_

_He smiled at her. "Why don't you focus on today rather than the future?"_

"_Because…" she sniffled a little. "I want to be a good wife and make you happy."_

"_You've always made me happy. Don't worry about it." He leaned in to kiss her and she blocked him so that he kissed the palm of her hand. _

_She grinned impishly. "Ha ha. Can't kiss me till after we say our vows at the altar."_

"_Alright. Then let's get to the altar."_

_She nodded, and then he exited. She wiped at her eyes a little, and then followed after him. _

Black Jack's mind was whirling. It had happened very fast. The police and the firemen and the ambulances had come. He had watched as they put out the house, and he sat there, shaking violently. Someone had put a blanket over his shoulders, but that didn't help him much at all. The investigators had worked late into the night and onto the early morning to try to uncover the mess and dig up the bodies, but with all the rubble, they reported that they were less than successful.

He closed his eyes and tried to get this awful scene out of his mind. But whenever he did, Pinoko and Yukia were there. He let out a strangled sob and buried his face in his hands. They were gone. No longer would he wake up and hear Yukia's little feet stepping eagerly across the floorboards to the kitchen to see them in the morning. He would no longer hear him call him "Papa," and wouldn't get to see him grow up and be a surgeon. And Pinoko…

There were more things that he would miss with Pinoko. While the bond between a parent and child is strong, Black Jack hadn't been Yukia's father for too long. He had more memories with her.

He would no longer see her watching him with that sweet smile on her face when he woke up in the morning. He would no longer feel her gentle, soothing touch. He would no longer hear her voice, calling him "Chenchei," or "Kuro'o" when she was concerned, or saying "I love you."

Her last words to him had been "I love you." And he had just mumbled back his response. It was ironic, he thought, how now he would kill to be able to respond to her with a cheery voice. It was funny how he was going to miss the little things the most.

After a couple more hours had passed, they had finally called off the investigation. A couple of detectives apologized to him, and murmured that they were sorry for his loss. He was so numb that he couldn't even say what he wanted to say: "Piss off."

When they were all gone, he got into his car and turned on the ignition. He contemplated whether or not he should drive off the cliff and just end it right now. Hopefully he would find them somewhere. But he decided against it, because then there would be no one left to mourn for Pinoko and Yukia. So instead he turned towards the town.

Black Jack holed up in an inn for the next couple of days, and eventually the word had spread. He received numerous concerned calls from his colleagues, begging him to respond. He didn't pick up. He just wanted to be left alone.

As for the funeral arrangements, he decided that there wasn't going to be one. The last thing he wanted to do was return to the Hazama family grave, where his mother buried, and now his wife and child? No. There wasn't going to be a funeral. There weren't even any bodies to bury.

He tried to get something to dull the pain. He drank a lot, but that didn't help. It only made him sadder than ever. He tried sleeping, just crawling into his bed and dozing off for hours…but he always woke up wondering where Pinoko was.

A week and a half later, Black Jack drove back up the cliff towards the ruins of his home. He walked around it sulkily, his whole body hunched forward. He kicked at the rubble in his path, and listened to the sound of the gulls, and the ocean waves licking at the side of the cliff.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw something peculiar in his path. He bent down and saw a small picture, one that was burnt at one corner and covered with a thin layer of smoke. He picked it up and wiped away the smoke, and his heart skipped a beat.

It was a picture of Pinoko holding up Yukia, the both of them looking absolutely delighted as they stood in front of the Ferris wheel. Black Jack smiled at the picture, and in a split second the smile wobbled uncontrollably, and then in another second, he was crying.

He cried for a very long time before he heard the faint crunching of gravel as tires rolled up the hill. If it was the Jaakuna Gyangu, he didn't care. They could kill him. He didn't have anything left to live for.

"Black Jack?"

His eyes widened. That was a very familiar voice. He turned around and saw Konomi, standing there looking incredibly distressed.

"Black Jack… I heard but I… I didn't believe it…"

She looked around in shock at the scene, grief stricken. She pressed a hand over her mouth and her eyes looked slightly teary. Black Jack stood up, pressing the heel of his hand into his eyes, and releasing a shaky sigh.

"I came as soon as I could." She murmured, coming up to him.

Konomi was still as beautiful and icy looking as ever with those blue eyes of hers. She approached him hastily but cautiously. When she reached him, she placed a hand on his shoulder. He pulled away.

"Please. Don't."

"What are you doing here?"

He shrugged his shoulders and walked ahead, not wanting to say anything more. Konomi hung her head a little and walked behind him.

"I… I had no idea that Pinoko was pregnant, Black Jack."

"What?" he demanded, turning around.

Konomi was startled by his severe tone. "The papers. They said that there was a child involved… you never…. You never said anything about a child…"

"He's not ours. He is… He was… adopted," he responded. "Why are you here, Konomi?"

"I'm here to help you." she surveyed the area again uneasily, and then looked at him. "Black Jack. Come on, let's get out of here. Where are you staying? I'll take you back."

He blinked and mindlessly followed after her towards her car.

_A/N: Well hello again! Okay, so this chapter kind of ended on a "pbbt!" point, let's face it. But it gets a little more dramatic, and then I promise, important stuff that will progress the plot along is going to happen. _

_Just wait a couple of chapters. Read and review as always! _


	9. Chapter 9: A Fire

_Okay! So this gets a little confusing, but if you have to read over it a couple of times, I hope that you'll get it. Anyways, read and review as always. _

**Chapter Nine**

Konomi entered the inn room, the door squeaking as she pushed it aside. In her grasp she held a bag of melon pan from the local bakery. Black Jack was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor with a blank expression drawn across his face. Deep in his eyes, if she happened to look, she could see his pain. And she feared that there would be nothing that could help him now.

She closed the door and said, "I'm back!"

He didn't say anything. He closed his eyes slightly.

"I brought some melon pan buns from the bakery. Would you like some?" she asked as she took a seat in the armchair in the corner, across from where he sat on the bed.

The hand that had been resting on his knee slowly turned to face palm out, and he waved it slightly as if to say, "No."

Konomi reached into the bag and withdrew one of the buns. She nibbled on one, drowning in the awkward silence.

"…Why are you here, Konomi?"

"I'm here because I think that you need somebody right now." She murmured, glancing up at him. "To help you get through this."

"Konomi. There is no helping me get through this," he told her, narrowing her eyes. "Why don't you go back to your husband or your job or whatever it is that you do now?"

Her face softened. "Because neither of them need me as urgently as you do."

"But I don't _need _you, and I don't recall asking you to come here," he retorted testily, eyes flashing. "I just want to be left alone!"

He stood up abruptly, threateningly; and Konomi recoiled slightly, surprised by his demeanor. His eyes were fiery; his lips had drawn back to reveal sharp teeth set in an angry snarl like some sort of rabid dog.

"You helped me once, Black Jack," she told him, her eyes watering. "So please, would you just calm down!"

At the sound of her tears, his eyes dilated, and he sat down slowly, like he had seen a ghost. She sighed shakily, setting aside the buns and the bag on the top of the dresser, and stood up. She drew back the curtains to allow light into the inn room, and opened up the windows. The breeze gently blew in, and the sounds of birds and cars rolling by drifted in with it.

"The boy…" she told him. "His name was Yukia, if I recall."

"…Yes."

She smiled slightly. "It's… it's odd, you know. You never seemed like the type… to do that kind of thing."

He glared at her skeptically. "You're not really good at comforting anyone, Konomi."

She hung her head and he stood up then, edging closer to her. She averted her eyes and refused to let him see her face.

"You and Rock… got into a fight, didn't you?"

"Oh…" she buried her face in her hands. "Please don't. It's not important right now."

"You…"

She looked up at him to see white fury in his face.

"…are unbelievable!" he roared at her, and she fled quickly to the other side of the room.

He pointed a finger at her accusingly, his eyes growing red. "My wife. My child. Are both dead. And you used this as an excuse to get away from your husband? What kind of coldhearted person are you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about! I really came to help!"

"I don't _need _your help, Konomi!" he snapped. "If you want to help me, then I want you to go home!"

The tension in the room was only worsened by the overwhelming silence that soon followed. Konomi stared at Black Jack. He was her friend, and she had also regarded him as the one man other than Rock that she could count on. In a way, she had fallen in love with him, and sometimes, she felt like being with Rock was wrong somehow.

But here, she was only continuing to hurt him. What was she thinking? She couldn't comfort anyone. After all, she had the reputation as the Black Queen—wait.

Pinoko was his queen. She had always been his everything.

There was no place for Konomi here.

Konomi stiffly stood up, and her pride soon seeped into her composure. She fixed one cold eye on him and then spoke.

"Fine. You don't need me. I understand. And I will return home." She licked her lips, trying to think of something else to say.

She nodded slightly, as if she had figured it out, and then continued, "But if you need my help, I won't hesitate to come down here once again. So please, keep that in mind."

She was so reluctant to leave. But she had to. He didn't say anything, and he simply just watched her go. He sat back down on the bed and listened to the sound of her car's tires crunching on the cobblestone roadway as she pulled out and drove away. He could see her car disappear into the distance from the window.

That night when he fell asleep, he had placed Pinoko and Yukia's picture up on the nightstand and propped it up so that it was facing him. He stared at the picture for a long time, not saying anything, just reviewing their faces. Would he forget the sound of their voices one day? If he lost this picture, would he forget how they looked?

_No. _he thought, focusing on their faces, his eyes darting back and forth. _The both of you deserve better. It's time that I stop doing this… _

_And plot my revenge. _

The next day, Black Jack contacted an old federal worker that had been a former patient of his and requested for information on the Jaakuna Gyangu, which was limited given that they had only been an active group for a number of years.

"Mr. Takahashi, thank you," Black Jack had said as they walked through the hallways of the facility, which was crisp and chrome and clean.

Mr. Takahashi, a man that was in his late fifties and had salt and pepper hair, gave a silent nod. He handed over a couple of semi thick files to Black Jack.

"Anything I could do, Doctor, would not be able to make up for what you did for me," Mr. Takahashi responded simply, a glowing and fond smile spreading across his face at the memory. "And… it certainly couldn't make up for what has happened…"

"I just need to make a start," Black Jack responded sternly.

Mr. Takahashi nodded. "Of course. But Black Jack… be careful."

"Of course I will be."

"No, Black Jack," Mr. Takahashi protested warningly, fixing a stern eye on him. "It's not the henchmen that you need to worry about. It's the main leader: Daitaro Usami. The man who calls himself Kyobona?"

Black Jack narrowed his eyes. "Yes? What about him?"

"He's just… here, let's go somewhere where we can talk privately."

Mr. Takahashi led Black Jack down the hallway and into a windowless break room that only had a few counters and a table with a set of folding chairs.

"I want you," Mr. Takahashi instructed as he sat down, "to open up this file here…"

"This one?" Black Jack asked, tapping the top one.

He nodded and Black Jack opened it. He flipped through a couple of the pages, and then found something very interesting.

It was a list of the known relatives that Daitaro had. There was a mother, who was marked as deceased, and a father who was marked as deceased as well, and an uncle who was still living. The older brother… deceased. Black Jack narrowed his eyes and flipped the page. There were a few copies of death certificates included in the file.

Black Jack came to the one that had Ronny's name on it. He saw the date and time of death, and his eyes widened.

The date of death was recorded as December 14th, 1974. That was over six years ago.

Black Jack looked down at the certificate in disbelief. "So that means…"

"That man that died… is not really Ronny."

"Who was he?" Black Jack asked Mr. Takahashi, glancing up.

Mr. Takahashi leaned back in his seat and folded his hands together. "Just a henchman. Here, there's a picture of the real Ronny included on the back of that certificate…"

Black Jack picked up the picture of a rather young, half Caucasian, half Asian male, who was standing in front of a yacht with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth.

"This… this looks… like the man that I treated."

"It does?" Mr. Takahashi asked, his eyes widening. "Oh boy. That's what I was afraid of. See, I thought something was odd when I was reading those files…"

"He's trying to recreate Ronny? Over and over again?"

"He's severely delusional, Doctor," Mr. Takahashi responded, nodding his head slowly. "And yes, you are correct. I believe that he has been trying to recreate Ronny."

"But… But that doesn't make any sense," Black Jack protested, waving his hands around in confusion. "Because if he was recreating Ronny, then he would have to know that is not Ronny. So someone… someone else is doing this."

"Could be," Mr. Takahashi answered. "But who?"

Black Jack nodded slowly. "That's what I've got to find out."

He set the picture aside and tapped his fingers against the table. "But even if I did, I couldn't begin to understand why…"

"That's the odd part about it too. I've read over the files, and I can't even begin to comprehend as to why somebody would do that to a person."

"…How did the original Ronny die?"

"Oh? I believe that it was a gunshot wound. I think it says so on the certificate…"

"And this Ronny died by a gunshot wound as well."

"Yes, yes," Mr. Takahashi nodded. "After all, they are a very violent gang. I'm pretty sure that's nothing out of the ordinary."

Black Jack shook his head. "No, there's got to be more to this. I want to know who was involved in the shooting of the original Ronny. Maybe I can trace it somehow…"

"What are you suggesting?"

Black Jack stood up and pushed away from the table. "It said on the list of relatives… that Ronny was the elder brother, right?"

He paced back and forth across the room. "Ronny was the elder brother. The dearly beloved elder brother, and probably the original leader of the Jaakunas, correct?"

"Yes. He was the original leader, according to the records."

"Then when Ronny was in charge, Daitaro would have to follow whatever Ronny said," Black Jack said, shaking a finger.

Black Jack came back over to the files, and started searching through for medical records. He removed Daitaro's, and started flipping through it.

"'Has a rare type of psychological or delusional disorder,'" Black Jack announced, reading directly from the file. "'Has trouble comprehending the difference between reality and fiction.'" Black Jack looked up. "So when someone brings in a man who looks like his brother, talks like his brother, acts like his brother… he instantly believes that that is his brother, and disregards the fact that his real brother is dead."

"That is a long shot," Mr. Takahashi announced skeptically.

"But it seems like it's worth it. Someone is trying to control the Jaakuna Gyangu, and if they wanted to do it, they have to go through Daitaro, and the only way to get through Daitaro is to use the illusion that is Ronny… it seems like a long shot, I understand Mr. Takahashi, but I think that it works, given Daitaro's history and his obvious attachment to his brother." Black Jack raised his head, his eyes flashing. "Mr. Takahashi, if you don't mind, I would like to take this home with me and study through it tonight, if that's alright."

"Of course, of course, that's not a problem. If you need my help though, you know how to reach me."

Black Jack nodded, shook his hand, and then gathered up the files and exited the building.

That night, as Black Jack poured over the various documents that were included in the files, he found that his research was starting to slowly come together. As it turns out, other doctors had reportedly been approached by the Jaakuna Gyangu for treatment of the other three Ronnys, including Black Jack. Each time they had failed, they had met terrible deaths by shootings.

Daitaro's father, as Black Jack had soon discovered, had been a successful engineer that worked at an elite transnational corporation and had inherited a large sum of money. The father had been involved in some dirty dealings in the past, which usually included his sons, Daitaro and Ronny.

"So the money is the motive," Black Jack said, furrowing his brow.

_If I find Daitaro, _Black Jack thought, _then I can find the man who is really behind all of this. If I intercept Daitaro, they will step in to prevent me from revealing the truth to him. The problem is… I don't know where Daitaro is. _

His eyes widened and he flipped back to the page with the relatives list. The uncle, on the father's side. He was retired and now living out on the outskirts of Kyoto…

"The uncle might know something," Black Jack mumbled underneath his breath. "So that's where I go first."

Black Jack put away the files and slid them underneath the pillows. He glanced at the picture of his wife and child.

"I want my revenge, I really do," he mumbled into his pillow, closing his eyes and picturing their faces in his mind. "But my revenge will come from solving this…"


	10. Chapter 10: The Uncle

_Another chapter has been uploaded. Success! I have some things to address though as it seems. Sorry about my author's comment for the last chapter and if it offended anyone... I hope that that can be forgiven. I hope that people will like this chapter, and I think that they will most certainly like the next one. Thanks for all your support, and as always, R&R!_

_(Oh yeah and an additional note: I saw a couple of clips from this episode of Black Jack, in which him and Pinoko go to a festival? It looked really cute… If anyone can tell me which episode that is, I will be super grateful!)_

**Chapter Ten**

It took Black Jack about two days to travel up to the Arashiyama district on the western side of Kyoto. It was a vibrant little place, riddled with shops and cafes that clustered around the Togetsukyo Bridge, all against the background of the forested mountains that laid beyond the area. Black Jack's journey took him slightly up past Arashiyama, towards the more hilly areas that had whole shrines and small temples that were scattered around.

Shou Usami, as according to the documents, had lived here for most of his life, past the age of twenty five. He was now quite an old man, in his sixties, and was rumored to be a rather well known and respected member of the community and known for his kindness and charitable acts during the holiday season.

The house that Usami lived in was quite modest: it was a quaint little country house tucked back behind the trees, with a long stretch of dirt road leading up to it, and a creek running along behind it.

Black Jack's car bumped nervously up the road, and when he got out of the car, he briefly acknowledged how eerily quiet and peaceful it was. He then approached the door and rapped his knuckles against it—or he would have if the door had not been left open.

"Mr. Usami?" Black Jack called out sternly, confusedly. His pulse quickened as he recognized that the carelessly left open door was not a good sign.

Black Jack stepped inside and called out again. "Mr. Usami?"

"Yes?"

A man popped out from around the corner, one that was sitting in a wheelchair. He used the control stick on the pad to move it up towards him. Shou was a man that had silky gray hair that was tied back in a ponytail and a wrinkled face that was obstructed by a pair of big bright eyes.

"Mr. Usami, I am Doctor Black Jack," he announced, stretching out his hand towards the man.

Shou reached up and shook his hand firmly, with a small smile spreading across his lips. "Black Jack, eh? Haven't I heard of that name before…"

"You probably have. I'm kind of a well known man," Black Jack answered, coughing slightly. "Anyways, I have something that I would like to discuss with you, if you don't mind…"

"Oh!" the man backed up in his wheelchair. "Well come right along in; I was just making some tea."

Black Jack carefully took off his shoes and closed the door, and glanced over at the man.

"Oh that old door swung open again?" the man blinked. "Ah, it happens all the time. I really should fix the lock on that…"

Black Jack entered the kitchen, which was more modern compared to the outside of the house. It had sleek wooden countertops, and looked to be equipped with all sorts of fancy gadgets to make life luxurious.

"You live alone, Mr. Usami?"

"Yes, I do. Not many women opt for a life with a man… well, you know." He took the kettle off of the burner of the stove and rummaged around in the cupboards beneath for two mugs. "But I don't mind. I'm rather a solitary man."

"You have a very nice house," Black Jack commented, "for someone who has only worked as a carpenter."

Shou poured the tea and set it in the tea packets. He then wheeled over to the table and gestured for Black Jack to take a seat.

"Yes," he said with a laugh, now responding to Black Jack's comment. "Yes, my little brother Ren took very good care of me once he had moved up far along the line. Building things was mainly just a hobby of mine, you know? And the best hobbies I think are the ones that are most profitable." He drummed his fingers against the table. "It's really one of my favorite hobbies, since I couldn't do much after the accident."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh…" he shook his head. "Playing around one day… in the street. A stupid child thing, you know? Got hit by a car… anyways, it's not a big deal now. I get along just fine."

He pushed the mug over to Black Jack and then took a sip out of his.

"So." He set down the mug and cupped it between his hands. "What brings you to my humble little abode?"

"I wanted to ask you about your nephew, Daitaro Usami?"

The man's eyes widened in shock. He sat there for a couple of minutes, and then he turned his head away shamefully, mumbling the name over and over again underneath his breath.

"Oh Daitaro… why would you want to get involved with him?" he glanced up cautiously.

Black Jack smiled coolly and then removed a stack of cash and pushed it across over to him. Shou looked at it rather disgustedly for a minute, and then he refocused his attention on Black Jack.

"You need not bribe me, Dr. Black Jack. I will tell you where Daitaro is. And I won't ask you any further questions, I'm sorry." He held up his hands innocently; apologetically. "Knowing who Daitaro is… it's obvious that you might be angry with him, yes?"

"Very," Black Jack responded coolly. "Where is he, Mr. Usami?"

"Daitaro… the last I heard from him was a while ago." Usami leaned back in his chair; his fingers folded together, eyes directed up towards the ceiling. "He called me from a payphone in Nagasaki, and said that he would be heading up north, halfway between Tokyo and Sapporo, for what he called a 'business deal.' Afterwards he said that he would be returning to Tokyo, and staying at the Twin Dragon inn down in the Kita ward."

"He got that specific with you?" Black Jack arched a brow.

Shou shook his head. "My nephew, I fear Doctor, fears no one. Not the police and certainly not the government."

He tilted his head at Black Jack. "Is that good enough?"

Black Jack just smiled in a way that revealed nothing. "Yes, Mr. Usami. Thank you. If I need to contact you again, I will do so."

He stood up and then left the house, with Mr. Usami following him out. Black Jack headed down the steps and opened his car door, and then from the doorway, Shou spoke.

"Black Jack," he yelled out. "I would be very wise as to not provoke Daitaro and get too wrapped up in his business! I fear very much for you, certainly!"

Black Jack just nodded coolly, and then climbed into his car and drove away.

_Well I've got nothing left to lose. _He thought as he cruised back down towards Arashiyama.

He started calculating in his head, and determined that most likely; Daitaro would be at the inn in Tokyo already. That is, if he hadn't stopped to take a detour… but Shou seemed to be a very reliable source.

"Next stop, Tokyo," Black Jack announced to himself, gritting his teeth as he once again drove back down the bumpy path.


	11. Chapter 11: Wake

_Don't hate me. R&R. _

**Chapter Eleven**

The breeze carried the salt from the ocean and scattered it like dust across the small array of islands. Several of them had thick forests growing out to their edges, looking like small little green puff balls against a huge blue background.

On one of these particular islands, there stood a small colonial style house, placed in the dead center of the island, almost hidden away by the canopy of trees.

This place happened to be an island that belonged to one of Black Jack's greatest rivals:

Dr. Kiriko.

Kiriko was now sitting in the breakfast nook off of the east side of his house, sipping tea, while his sole maid stood in the kitchen running water over the dishes. Kiriko, staring out the window, pulled down the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a large burn mark. He examined it briefly, a concerned look crossing over his face before he left it alone.

He stood up abruptly and then exited the room, briefly nodding to the maid, and headed up the long circling staircase to the second level of his home. He made a left down the hallway and started for the room at the end of it.

He opened the door, and saw the young woman lying in the bed was still sleeping.

"She's been sleeping for days…" he grumbled. "Does he let her get away with that?"

He stepped into the room and approached the bed cautiously. She laid curled up on one side, her auburn hair was softly curling around her left shoulder. She breathed shakily, as if she was combating her inner demons while she slept.

"_Chei…" _she whispered. "_Chen…chei…"_

"Aha!" Kiriko exclaimed, throwing the covers off of her. "So you are awake!"

Pinoko, startled, let out a screech and scrambled away from him as fast as she could. Heart pounding, she stared at the man who stood on the opposite side of the bed.

"Kiriko?" she cried out. "W…"

She twisted her head around wildly, examining her surroundings. She put both hands over her mouth, her eyes widening.

"Where am I?" she demanded then, her arms snapping to her side defiantly. "Where is my son? Where is Black Jack?"

He held up both hands and moved them up and down slowly to try to keep her to remain calm. But it was clear that by the wild look in her eyes that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

She put a hand to her head and stared at the bed.

"Oh God! Did something happen?"

He arched a brow dryly. "Of course. Always jump to the worst conclusions, must we?"

"Well why the hell am I here?" she demanded furiously.

"You and your son, Yukia," he said, jerking his head over her shoulder, "were in danger. I happened to be in the area, so I came to help you… did you already forget?"

"I… I don't remember any of that."

"You were conscious at the time when we were leaving the house," he told her, tilting his head to the side curiously. "Why don't you sit down and try to recollect what happened?"

Pinoko sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed her arms, staring hard at the floor. She seemed to remember how he had come in through their window, and then urgently led them out of the house, down the cliff side by a rope, and into a boat… after that, she had heard this loud heart stopping explosion and passed out…

"Where is my husband?" she asked, looking up. "Did he…"

"He wasn't home when I came in."

Her eyes widened. "Does that mean… did he die?"

Dr. Kiriko sighed, contemplating how to handle this. "I don't particularly know if Black Jack managed to enter the house before the bomb exploded. However if he did, I wouldn't be too worried… He can find his way out of the most troubling situations."

Pinoko felt the tears burn at the corners of her eyes, but she vigorously wiped them away. She stood up and found a robe hanging off of the edge of an armchair. She pulled it on and looked over at Kiriko.

"I would like to see my son now."

"Of course. He might still be sleeping. He's in the room right next to yours."

Pinoko headed outside without another word and then opened the door to a small room with a four post bed and a regal nightstand. Yukia was already awake, sitting upright and looking confused. If Pinoko hadn't come in just then, he might have started crying.

"Mama!" he flung off the covers and rushed over to her.

He hugged her legs and she placed a hand on his head reassuringly, trying to push her worries about her husband to the back of her head. Yukia wasn't saying anything as he clung to her, at least for a couple of minutes. Then he finally looked up at her and blinking, asked her a question.

"Mama, where's Papa?"

"Oh…" Pinoko murmured uncertainly, wondering how to handle this situation.

"Why don't you just tell him the truth right now?" Dr. Kiriko stepped into the doorway. "You don't know where his father is."

Pinoko cast an ugly look over her shoulder at Dr. Kiriko, and Yukia's eyes widened in horror.

"You mean… Papa's not here on the island at all?"

"No, honey. Not according to Kiriko…"

"Well, is he coming soon?"

Pinoko's eyes welled up with tears and she pulled Yukia close so that he couldn't look up at her.

"I don't know, honey," she answered, managing to speak without having to cry. "Hopefully."

Kiriko arched a brow at the scene and then left the doorway, heading down the stairs. Pinoko glanced over the shoulder and then left the room, holding Yukia's hand as they followed him down the staircase.

"How did you even get involved?" Pinoko demanded. "How—"

"—they brought a henchman of theirs to my home, demanding that I treat him, and when I tried to charge them for a fee, they burned down my house. They're really creative on that whole fiery death thing," Kiriko commented, irked. "And they mentioned something about moving up around the area where you and your husband lived… so I came up there as soon as possible, and I noticed some people hiding out in the hills. End of story. What else do you need to know?"

Pinoko responded icily, "Nothing."

_Except where to find my husband and if he's okay, and also, how did you change me into a nightgown? _She thought, her voice grumbling inside of her head as she followed him into the kitchen.

"Selma," Kiriko called into the kitchen, "prepare breakfast for our guests, please? Just a couple of bowls of miso soup should be good enough…"

They all gathered around the table in the breakfast nook and waited patiently for breakfast to arrive. However it was quite awkward due to the tension in the room. Pinoko watched Kiriko, who was off in a distant world of his own, uninterestedly staring back at them.

He finally said, "Your boy looks an awfully lot like Black Jack. I thought it was a rather shot gun wedding."

Pinoko gaped in rage and Yukia tilted his head up to look at his mother.

"What does that mean?"

"Kiriko!" she snapped finally, standing up. "Please watch yourself! He is adopted, for your information, and has no blood relationship to either me or Black Jack."

"He looks a lot like him, though," Kiriko mumbled.

Yukia squirmed under Kiriko's gaze and he tugged on the sleeve of his mother's robe.

"He creeps me out," he whispered into her ear. "Can we go home?"

"No you cannot go home," Kiriko answered sharply. "Unless you want to die, and I can offer a less painful death at an affordable pmiso soup. If Daitaro's gang finds out that you're alive—well, any of us, basically—then we have a pmiso soup on our heads, and he'll kill us."

Yukia gasped in horror, fear instantly coming onto his face. Pinoko clenched her fists.

"Why don't you stop talking so darkly around a five year old boy and we discuss this privately?" she demanded. "And by the way, we can't live the rest of our lives stuck on an island with you."

"Well it's not like it's impossible—"

"_Kiriko. _No way."

Kiriko leaned back in his seat and reached from underneath his vest and pulled out a pipe. He lit it and then began to smoke it. Yukia's nose wrinkled. He had occasionally seen his father smoke a pipe, but that didn't make him very used to it.

"You shouldn't baby him, Pinoko. You'll ruin him."

"You're not his parent, are you?" she smiled thinly, and then patted Yukia's head. "Why don't you eat breakfast in the kitchen with the maid? I apparently have to talk to your uncle now."

"He's my uncle?" Yukia blinked.

Pinoko shrugged. "I suppose he is." She looked over at him. _After all, he was the best man in our wedding. _

Yukia got up and left the table as his mother had instructed. She then gave her full attention to Kiriko.

"Shouldn't we try to contact Black Jack?"

"If he's alive, then we'll contact him. But until we know for sure, let's not try to unintentionally draw attention to ourselves."

Pinoko slumped in her seat. "Okay."

"And if we have to contact him, there are no land lines or anything, so I would have to go to the mainland, and try to find him myself. It would just have to be me, because again, less attention."

"What if?" she asked, raising her head slightly. "What if my husband is dead? Then… do I..."

"We wait for the turmoil to die down… so about a couple of years, depending on what happens with the Jaakunas… and then you can return to the mainland." Kiriko arched a brow. "To a burned spot on a cliff where your home used to be."

He remarked, "Oh, that is quite troublesome, isn't it? He was the main source of income for the household, obviously…"

"Chenchei always set aside money for me," she answered, "for use in emergencies. If it comes to that…"

She choked on a lump of tears suddenly rising in her throat. "If it comes to that…"

"Hey!" Kiriko said then, sharply. He leaned over and addressed her in a low voice. "If you start crying right now in front of your son, won't that alarm him even more than what I say?"

Pinoko instantly stopped and recovered, grateful. She pushed back a strand of her hair and stared at the table.

"What scares me is that if we think that he could be dead, he probably thinks that we're dead," Pinoko whispered.

Kiriko didn't say anything. He wasn't going to argue with her on that point. Yukia reentered the room with the maid who was carrying two bowls of miso soup.

"I thought you were going to eat in the kitchen," Pinoko told him as he sat down next to her.

"Yeah but you stopped talking with the eye patch man, so I came back in."

He shoveled his spoon into the miso soup and murmured a thank you to the maid, who graciously blushed and skittered back to the kitchen like a shy mouse. Pinoko and Yukia commenced in eating then. Kiriko just sat there because he had nothing better to do.

Pinoko finished first and Kiriko chuckled a little.

"Well you're a quick eater."

"Always have been," she answered, using a napkin to wipe at her mouth. "So, where can a lady bathe around here?"

"Upstairs, down the hall, and to your right," Kiriko instructed, not bothering to get up. "That's the only bathroom in the whole house."

"Alright then. Thank you." Pinoko stood up and exited the room.

As soon as she left a panicked look flashed across Yukia's face. His eyes turned slowly to glance at the eye patched man with the voluminous hair. Kiriko's eyes met him, and then Yukia quickly glanced away.

"Why are you such a fraidy cat?"

Yukia set down his spoon and refused to meet his eyes. "I'm not a fraidy cat. You're just a scary old man."

"Old man?" Kiriko recoiled, glaring at him. "If I'm such an old man, shouldn't you pay me respect because I'm your elder?"

"…Mama doesn't treat you respectfully."

"Well your mother should," Kiriko grumbled, scowling. "It might teach you some manners."

Yukia rolled his eyes.

"Did you just roll your eyes at me?"

Yukia shrugged his shoulders and started guzzling soup. He swallowed politely, and when he was finished, got up and scrambled away from the table as fast as possible.

Kiriko scoffed, and then stood up and exited the room.


	12. Chapter 12: The Inn

_Okay, so in case that some of you are mad at me for bringing back Yukia and Pinoko, here's some of the reasons as to why I didn't do it: _

_A) I don't feel I particularly have the right to because Pinoko is Tezuka's character (I DON'T OWN BLACK JACK STILL)_

_B) Black Jack has been through a lot of dirt and so has Yukia_

_C) I'm kind of a chicken_

_D) I have other plans_

_So there's a list of reasons as to why I didn't do it. But I'm not letting them get off so easily, so don't think that it's going to all be a bed of roses for Pinoko and Yukia here on out… Living with Kiriko isn't going to be their only problem, of course._

_Anyways, enough yammering! This chapter was really fun and exciting for me to write so I hope you enjoy it! Thanks again and R&R as always!_

**Chapter Twelve**

Black Jack had finally made it to Tokyo after two days of super condensed driving and heavy traffic. He at this point was very tense; worried that Daitaro would have already left the Twin Dragon Inn. After entering the city, he quickly stopped to pick up a map from a coffee shop, and then took to the streets to search for the inn.

He headed down into a rather shady looking part of town, but he wasn't surprised, and he wasn't scared. Kids hung around on the stoops of houses, there were lines of clothing stretched out between the apartment buildings, and the whole place had this sort of fog drifting over it, almost as if it was being choked by gas.

After making a few turns and heading down a couple of alleys, he managed to find the small three story inn that was stationed on the corner of an intersection. Outside the big glass windows that clearly needed washed there was a buzzing neon sign that depicted two dragons encircling one another, the flames from their breath forming the words, "Twin Dragon Inn."

Black Jack gritted his teeth and then entered the inn. Inside it smelled strongly of smoke and various liquors. The walls were paneled with a dark type of wood that had scratches in it from what was likely to be too many bar fights, and the wallpaper that lined the top near the ceiling had various problems: it was torn, it was peeling, it was taped down… The whole place definitely had that rough feel to it.

He came in and sat down at the bar, in front of where a female bartender was wiping up the counter with a soapy dirty washcloth. Her arms were lined with tattoos of various dragons in all sorts of designs and colors, and her eyes were oddly made up, with sharp black lines fraying out at the corners of her eyes, and the tips of her eyelids were lined with a shimmery gold.

"What can I get you?" she asked uninterestedly, not even bothering to look up.

"I'll have just a glass of water."

She looked up at him as if she couldn't believe he was serious. "You come to a bar to get a glass of water?"

"Fine," he responded in a hiss. "I'll have a glass of sherry."

She shrugged her shoulders and then went to get it for him. He turned around and surveyed the area. He couldn't see many people that looked like they were a part of the Jaakuna Gyangu. The henchmen had been wearing suits; these people wore just regular street clothes. Nobody looked suspicious here.

"That'll be 500 yen," she told him, passing the glass his way.

He nodded but didn't reach for his wallet, just continued drinking. She blinked and then propped her arms up on the counter, leaning forward.

"Hey, I haven't seen you around here before," she commented. "What brings you here anyway, scary dude?"

He set down his glass of sherry and looked her in the eye. "Do you really rent out rooms here?"

"Of course we do. We couldn't call ourselves an inn if we didn't."

"Have you ever rented out an inn to a Daitaro Usami?"

Her eyes widened and she recoiled from him immediately.

"Hey now," she hissed, her eyes flashing. "What the hell are you asking me that question for?"

"So the answer is yes, I take it?" he drank from his sherry glass, eying her cautiously.

She crouched down so that they were eye to eye.

"You don't just come in here asking those kinds of questions like it's something casual, alright?" she snapped. "He's a wanted criminal."

"And your inn apparently caters to wanted criminals," Black Jack responded icily, polishing off his glass.

Her tone didn't change. "Sir, I'd like you to pay the 500 yen that you owe me, and then I'd like you to leave."

"Is Daitaro still around?" Black Jack asked, and he withdrew his wallet, not only withdrawing the 500 yen, but an additional small stack of cash.

She eyed the cash greedily, but did not reach out to take it.

"If he's moved on, where has he gone to?"

"I'm sorry," she answered slowly, "but I can't answer either of those questions."

His hand parted his wallet again, but she shook her head vigorously.

"No, sir," she said, stepping back. "I can't answer them no matter how much you pay me."

Black Jack put the money back in his wallet and then tilted his head to one side.

"Hmm. Can I rent a room for the night?"

"What the-!" she spluttered in confusion.

"I'm a paying customer and I would like to rent a room for the night."

She drew back with a skeptical brow arched, and crossed her arms. "Yes, you may. There's a room open right above the bar here."

_Stupid girl, _Black Jack thought with a smug smile.

She led him up the staircase towards the back of the bar that was cut off by a strand of rope. The stairs creaked and groaned under their weight as they headed up.

"I don't know what's with you, mister," she said, fishing in the pocket of her trousers for a ring of keys, "but you're a total weirdo, and if you cause anymore trouble, I'll report you to the police."

She opened the door for him, and he shoved her inside, and then quickly shut the door behind him. She was on her knees on the floor, and she was cursing now quite vulgarly.

"Alright, that's it!" she got up and charged at him, but he threw her back easily since she was so puny and not muscular.

She fell onto the floor again, hissing as her leg banged into the corner of a wall. She clutched at her leg, glaring at him. He approached her with icy, lifeless blood red eyes, looming over her like he was Death himself.

"What the hell did Daitaro do to you anyways, you freak!"

"I asked you nicely." Black Jack's eyes closed and then opened. "And you refused to meet my demands."

He grabbed her and then lashed her wrists together with a bit of rope, as well as her ankles. She struggled but once again he overcame her.

She tugged at her restraints but to no avail. Black Jack stood then and circled her.

"I'm not going to be very patient with you," he warned her angrily. "So, tell me where Daitaro is."

She spat at his shoes and he dodged it smoothly. She grimaced.

"I'm not going to tell you where he is," she responded.

"Oh, you're not?"

He withdrew a scalpel that was concealed underneath his cloak, and pressed the dull edge to her throat. Now she was whimpering in fear.

"Daitaro did something to me that is unforgivable," Black Jack hissed, his eyes locking on with hers. "So I would advise that you give up the information, or otherwise, I'm going to make a horizontal cut right across that pretty little jugular vein of yours…"

She gulped, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. Black Jack waited two minutes, and when she didn't respond, he turned over the blade. She recoiled violently and screamed for him to stop.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" she hollered, tears running down her cheeks.

She shook her head a few times and then nodded slowly, shaking. "Daitaro has… already moved on. He left three days ago. He's in the Shinjuku ward now!"

"Shinjuku. Where in Shinjuku?"

"He said… he said he was going to do a business deal with a friend of his! A-a gunsmith or something…"

"Where?" Black Jack snarled.

"At a place c-called the Fire Spot!"

Black Jack's eyes flashed. "If you're lying…"

"I'm not lying!" she screamed at him. "I'm his girlfriend! Why would he lie to me?"

Black Jack stopped dead in his tracks. His girlfriend?

"_You're _his girlfriend?"

"Uh huh!" she licked her lips, looking rather prideful. "He and I have been together since my freshman year of high school!"

Black Jack paced slowly in front of her. She waited, and then burst out again.

"Hey! I told you where he was! Aren't you going to let me go?"

"You would sell out your boyfriend that easily?"

She shrugged.

"Even though you love him?"

"You were threatening to kill me with a scalpel, dude!" she snapped. "Like, seriously?"

"I can't believe this," Black Jack grumbled. This stupid kid, probably not a lick older than sixteen, was apparently dating one of the most notorious gangsters around?

_And _lying about her age, because she was working at a bar.

She was crying again now, sniffling a little. "Daitaro said he wasn't going to come back for a while… He said that he had a lot of business, and he barely stayed, so I didn't get to see him much…" she looked up at Black Jack, blinking away her tears. "But he makes money, you know? And that's what matters."

_Money. _Black Jack thought, the word ringing through his head. He reached behind her and then cut off her restraints on her wrists.

"You. Are a stupid, stupid girl," he told her. "Getting yourself mixed up with a gangster for money—"

"—Hey, I said I loved him!"

"I think you're lying," Black Jack said with a soft chuckle, shaking his head.

Her cheeks burned furiously and he stood up and started to walk away from her. She couldn't get up and follow him because the rope was still tied around her ankles. He stood briefly in the doorway, and his shadowy figure turned around to meet her.

"You know… based on what Daitaro did to me, I should have killed you anyways," he told her, grimacing. "But it's obvious that if he were to leave you here alone and unprotected, he doesn't really love you after all, does he?"

Her eyes widened and she was stunned.

"I'd advise you cut ties with him," he said, pulling his cloak closer around him. "But, you know, that's just me. Have a good day."

The noise from the bar was so loud that no one would probably hear for a while her screaming in frustration for someone to untie her.

Black Jack lit a cigarette the moment that he climbed back into his car. Shinjuku… Why was Daitaro running around so carelessly?

And that girl… Black Jack shook his head. She would probably report him to the police as soon as possible.

That meant he had to act fast.


	13. Chapter 13: Weapons

**sChapter Thirteen**

Shinjuku was a lively part of Tokyo, which was home to a large part of Tokyo's government and also the world's busiest train station.

Black Jack remembered this little fact rather irately as he sat in traffic for hours on end. He pounded his dashboard in frustration and cursed loudly quite a few times about how he should have left his car back in Kita.

Eventually he managed to make his way past the traffic lines and into the city. He had purchased a map of Shinjuku earlier and had found the Fire Spot, which was once again, located in the shadier side of town.

When he had stopped by at a convenience store to ask for further directions and to make sure he was on the right track, the clerk had looked stunned as to why he wanted to go down there.

"Uh," the teenage boy had scratched his head and responded, "Well, it's a couple streets down from here… I think your third left? But why do you want to go there?"

"No reason," Black Jack quipped, and then he had purchased a bit of tobacco for his pipe and left.

He got back in his vehicle and opened the compartment that was on the passenger side of his dashboard. In it sat a small black pistol that he had acquired a while ago and had left it in there. Now it seemed like he would finally have a time to use it.

He tucked it underneath his cloak as well as a few other scalpels, and then proceeded down the street towards the Fire Spot. He followed the boy's directions and eventually found this little shack like shop squeezed between two apartment buildings. Black Jack stopped about a block or two away and surveyed what was in front of the shop.

Two sleek muscle cars, obviously imported, were parked outside of the shop. Behind the dark panel of glass, Black Jack could see a few figures of people crowding in front of the window. Black Jack quickly checked his gun, hid it again, and then proceeded towards the shop. He pressed himself to the wall and leaned casually against it, listening to what he could make out from inside. He was delighted to hear that the walls were quite thin.

"…_Imported… Yes, custom made…_"

"…_They cost a fortune… quality is second to none…"_

"…_In the back here, let me show you…"_

Black Jack heard footsteps moving towards the back of the store. He took the opportunity at that moment to cross in front of the store and determine whether or not he had heard correctly. As he passed by he saw no one. So he headed into the store.

The store was haphazardly organized, with guns mounted everywhere on the walls and various types of ammo randomly crammed into counters and underneath the coverings of displays. Black Jack could see that a door at the back of the store was propped slightly open. The room was otherwise unoccupied.

He proceeded slowly to the back of the store and glanced through the doorway. He saw, to his amazement, a rather large and spacious garage that faced an alleyway, in which a car was parked at the back. Black Jack saw a group of men clustered in front of a couple of armored and cardboard boxes, listening intently while one man talked quite excitedly.

"See these are some pretty impressive weapons," he told one of the men, and then Black Jack's eyes widened.

_Daitaro Usami. _

Black Jack gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to pull out the pistol and shoot him right then and there. He waited. He had to wait. He would get him.

"…See, there are quite a few rifles here that are top of the line. Army quality. And there's a sniper here too that I've included that has got the best range, and a couple pistols that pack quite a lot of power."

"They're all imported?" Daitaro asked, a soft smile creeping across his lips. "Is that true, Shintaro?"

Shintaro, the gunsmith, nodded eagerly. "Oh yes. Imported from mainly European countries. The Europeans… they make a lot of good stuff."

"So I see, so I see."

"Here," Shintaro said happily, passing over a silver pistol to Daitaro, "this is one of my favorites. A German made gun."

Daitaro grabbed the pistol, felt its weight and admired it, then fired a couple rounds at the wall. Shintaro flinched each time he fired, but nodded when Daitaro gave a satisfied smile.

"Yes, yes, very good," Daitaro commented. "What is your price for this?"

"All of this or just the pistol?"

"All of it." Daitaro answered, and a dark look crossed his face.

"Well… the price is going to be around two million yen."

"Two million?" Daitaro tilted his head, as if confused by this number.

Shintaro nodded feebly. "Y-yes. Believe me, sir, that's a generous price as it is…"

"I'll be the one to determine that."

Daitaro nodded to his men, who instantly went forward and snatched up the boxes. Shintaro started screaming furiously and pulled out a gun, but forgot that Daitaro had been holding a pistol himself, and he fired.

Shintaro screamed and fell to the ground, bleeding, and then the henchmen rushed as fast as they could to get the boxes of weapons in the car. At that moment, Black Jack pulled out his gun and rushed out.

"Daitaro!" he roared furiously, pointing the gun at him.

Daitaro turned around, and his eyes flashed, but one of his henchmen shoved him inside of the car. Black Jack fired off a few rounds, but his hands were shaking so bad that they missed, hitting the sides of the car instead. The car tires screeched and spun, and then they were out of the alley.

"_Damn it!_" Black Jack roared, falling to his knees in pure rage.

His hands pulled at his hair and he glared furiously at the floor. "He was there. He was right there. I almost had him…"

He stopped. He slowly turned and glanced over his shoulder, and saw the body of Shintaro lying there twitching. The blood from his wound was leaking out quite steadily. Black Jack's eyes widened.

He quickly stepped over to the body and crouched down, then felt for a pulse. He was obviously still alive and in a lot of pain; too much pain to be able to talk. The thin pupils of his eyes stared pleadingly up at him, as his body started to convulse.

The bullet had appeared to have gone somewhere dangerously close to his heart. It was at that moment that Black Jack realized he was going to have to perform an operation.

_A/N: Hey, hey, hey! So exciting. Finally he does another operation! Some of you might have noticed that I added titles to my chapters. I understand that some of the titles are just lame, but I wanted to create chapter titles that wouldn't give too much away… Anyway read and review as always and thank you very much for all your support!_


	14. Chapter 14: Emergency Op

**Chapter Fourteen**

Black Jack knew that he had to act fast. He left Shintaro there after applying some anesthesia, and raced back to his car to retrieve his suitcase full of medical supplies. Once that was done, he ran back.

Shintaro's face was an ashen gray color, and he was breathing very shakily. Black Jack set up the operation bubble around Shintaro's body and quickly disinfected before pulling on his white scrubs. Then he crouched next to Shintaro's body, and went to work.

Finally he put him completely under, and tried to pull out the bullet very carefully, but it was lodged too deep. He made a cut on Shintaro's chest and used the forceps to pull the skin back so he could get a better view.

One of Shintaro's arteries had been damaged by a bullet, and it was definitely a close call. Black Jack stitched up the artery and checked for further signs of damage before he began to carefully tweeze out the bullet and other pieces of shrapnel.

Then he sewed up his chest, and quickly checked his heart rate and blood pressure using other pieces of his equipment. Shintaro's condition didn't appear to be getting any worse. Black Jack sighed heavily and pulled off his bloody gloves and clothes, and slipped them into a plastic bag so that the blood wouldn't touch anything.

After that, the only things that he could do were to sit and wait. So he did. He felt the pistol now in his hands and turned it over and over multiple times. He could feel the picture of his family beneath his cloak, burning a hole in his chest. His shoulders shook with emotion, but he did not cry.

An hour passed and Shintaro eventually awoke, but he was in deep pain. His body twisted and contorted and he started to perspire. Black Jack quickly measured out an amount of morphine and injected it into his body.

Shintaro was able to relax then. His body settled down and he stared up at Black Jack with questioning eyes.

"…W-wh…o… are you?"

"I'm Black Jack," he answered, "and I'm a doctor. You've been shot, but I've repaired the damage that was done."

"Th…than…"

"The operation wasn't free you know," Black Jack said, crossing his arms and fixing one eye on the man. "Now, if you are well enough to continue speaking, why don't you and I discuss the terms of your payment?"

"Well I would have paid you with the two million yen that I was _supposed _to get from Daitaro… that… son of… a…"

"Save your energy. You can repay me and also get revenge on Daitaro," Black Jack said with a smug smile. "Aren't I a generous man?"

"Wh…at… do you want to know?"

"I want to know where he's going next and what he's doing," Black Jack responded sharply.

"…Daitaro is leaving the country. He's going to… meet up… with some other guys in… Hong Kong. He'll be going to Yakushime… that's where the boat will be…"

_Damn, _Black Jack thought angrily. _This guy is having me run around all of Japan, and now into another country?_

"What is he trying to do?"

"He says… his brother… told him to start… building an empire."

"An empire?" he repeated.

"Yes… it's ridiculous," Shintaro answered, his eyes rolling off to the other side of the room. "But he's serious, and when a man is as serious as Daitaro… it's rather frightening."

Black Jack set his jaw in a firm line. "You're absolutely sure that he is going to Yakushime?"

"Not… for sure," Shintaro admitted. "But I know that he is going to Hong Kong… he said that there was someone else down in Yakushime that he was considering to… stay with…"

Black Jack's eyes widened. _Could it be the person that's really behind all of this?_

"Doc…" Shintaro blinked a couple of times. "I… Am I going to be okay…?"

"Hopefully. I will make a stop at a hospital before I proceed on my way," Black Jack answered.

Shintaro nodded, and allowed Black Jack to pick him up and carry him. Black Jack weaved through the alleys so as not to raise any attention, and then sprinted when his car was in sight. He put Shintaro in the back of his vehicle and then climbed in and started to drive away.


	15. Chapter 15: Turbulent Waters

**Chapter Fifteen**

Storms occurred on the island quite frequently where they lived. Many mornings, Pinoko would wake up and see the turbulent waves crashing against the shoreline and quickly receding. Yukia was afraid of thunder, so there were a few nights when he did come up to Pinoko and ask politely if he could stay in her bedroom.

She nodded, and let him in her bed, and he would fall asleep instantly, curled up on his side. She envied her son slightly. He would have her to comfort him in case he had a nightmare. The person that was supposed to be comforting her was either dead or on the run.

She did wake up one of those nights, shaking a little bit, and retreated to the bathroom to cry in private. She pressed wads of toilet paper to her eyes and tried to dry her wet face. After fifteen minutes she finally came out, and saw Kiriko standing there, looking concerned.

"What is the trouble?" Kiriko asked, his eyebrows heightened on his forehead.

"N-nothing." She shut the bathroom door behind her. "I'm not feeling too good."

He followed her back to her room and she smiled hastily before shutting the door in his face.

The following day, Pinoko and Yukia woke up late as they usually did, and were served breakfast by Selma. They ate with Kiriko in the breakfast nook. The storm had been quite violent the previous night, but looking outside now, it seemed as if a storm had never occurred. It was hot and it was humid, and the plants were sprinkled with dew and had water dripping off of them. The sun shone brightly overhead, and there were no clouds in sight.

"We should go swimming," Yukia suggested. "Can we go swimming, Mama?"

"I suppose so." She smiled slightly at this, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin.

"I'll go with you," Kiriko said. "I know the pathway down to the beach. Besides, I do enjoy the ocean."

So after that, all of them went out—including Selma, who had fixed up a picnic basket—and headed down to the shoreline. It was kind of rocky down there, with jagged teeth sticking up out of the water. Yukia playfully hopped around on them, and Pinoko worried as to whether or not she would have to be stitching him up at the end of the day.

She was sitting underneath the parasol with Kiriko and Selma was reading a book off on the corner of the blanket. She pulled her knees to her chest and watched as her son played.

"Kiriko," she said. "Didn't you use to live on an island with… your sister, Yuri?"

"Yuri?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Yuri was killed in the fire."

"Oh… oh my God," Pinoko whispered, putting her hands over her mouth. "Oh… Kiriko, I'm…"

Kiriko's eyes looked a little red rimmed and he suddenly seemed tired. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."

He stared out at the ocean waves. "She lived for a few days. But her body was covered in third degree burns. She had acquired infections to which I could not properly prevent. She said it was her time. So I let her go."

His hurt voice was cut off then. He had nothing more to say. Pinoko stared at him, blinked, and then hung her head.

"Kiriko." She squeezed his hand. "You know, you're not alone."

He raised his hand, incredulous that she was holding his hand.

"You can come and live with us," she told him. "Me and Yukia and… and my husband, if possible."

"He wouldn't ever let that happen," Kiriko said with a scoff. "Our view points, Pinoko, are far off."

"Then you can at least live in the area," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "You were in our wedding—I don't think my husband resents you _that _much, otherwise you wouldn't have been in it."

_I thought it was just because you were so insistent, _he thought, but ignored it.

He just nodded and pulled away his hand. "Well, I'll keep it in mind."

Time passed, and they sat there together. Yukia continued to play and climb all over the rocks, perfectly content to be off by himself.

"What are you going to do if he doesn't come back?"

"I don't know." She exhaled. "We've got some money saved up… but I suppose I will have to work."

"Couldn't you work as a doctor?"

"A doctor?" she laughed. "No. A nurse, yes. A doctor? Probably not."

"If you studied up then maybe. Don't keep all your options closed off."

The clouds then started to roll in, and Yukia quickly grew cold. He walked up to his mother, shivering slightly, an excited look still in his eyes. She got up and threw a towel over his head and then vigorously started to dry his hair. He laughed and he hung the towel around his shoulders. They started to pick up their little rest site, and then headed up the path back to the house.

_"Pinoko."_

_Her eyes widened as he stood there, right in front of her. She smiled broadly and then came forward. _

_But her depth perception must have been off. He was suddenly the same distance from her. She took another step and another step and he kept on getting farther away. She looked down at her feet, confused, and then he heard her say her name again. _

"_Pinoko!"_

_She jerked her head up and then saw that his form was slowly decomposing in front of her, piece by piece. His eyes were horrified, and he spread his hands helplessly. Screaming she tried to come towards him again, and instead she found herself falling. He was above her, slowly disappearing from view, as she sunk into a thick pool of nothingness. _

_Then she felt a sudden pain in her side. A sharp, fierce pain. She cried out, but couldn't even hear herself scream. _

"Mama?" Yukia pushed open her door a little.

He jumped when he heard the cymbal-like crash of the thunder outside, and trembling, he took a few steps forward.

"I heard some funny noises. It wasn't the thunder this time, I promise."

He heard her let out a low moan, and his eyes widened.

"Mama?"

He felt around the wall and flicked on the light switch. His heart started ramming in his chest when he saw that his mother was lying, barely conscious, in a pool of blood.

"Mama!" he rushed over to the bed, seeing that the sheets were soaked, and that she didn't even seem to notice—she was asleep.

She jerked around in her sleep like she was having some sort of seizure and he didn't know what to do. He raced out of the room and started screaming and hollering, and slammed himself into Dr. Kiriko's door.

His little fists pounded frantically on the walls. "Kiriko! KIR-IKO! My Mama! My Mama! There's something wrong with Mama!"

Kiriko pulled the door open, tying his robe tighter around his body as he looked down at a fearful Yukia.

"Mama's bleeding all over the place," Yukia cried out. "And she won't wake up."

Kiriko headed down the hallway, letting Yukia lead the way. He stood in the doorway of Pinoko's bedroom, and his eyes widened. He approached her hurriedly, and tried to shake her awake. Pinoko's eyelids did flutter open, but she looked like she was barely able to function.

"Poor child," he murmured in a concerned voice. "Poor, poor child."

Dawn was rising by the time that Kiriko had pulled Pinoko out of surgery. With a heavy sigh, he carried her body up the stairs and into her bedroom, where Selma had stripped the sheets and redressed it. He laid her in the bed, and pushed back her hair. He pulled up a sheet over her body.

He turned around and started to head back towards the door, and then he heard Pinoko's voice speaking faintly, hoarsely.

"Kiriko…?" she croaked. "Kiriko…"

"Yes?" he glanced over his shoulder, feeling uncomfortable.

"Did… did he lie to me?"

He shook his head. "No Pinoko. He didn't lie to you."

And with that, he left the room.

_A/N: I'm not going to tell you what went wrong with Pinoko. You can feel free to guess, but I'm not going to tell. ;) More surprises happen in the next chapter though! I think you're going to like it. R&R and thank you as always._


	16. Chapter 16: Set Sail

**Chapter Sixteen**

Black Jack left immediately for Yakushime as soon as he had left Shintaro at the hospital. With all the traffic and various additional conditions, it took him a week to reach Yakushime. During that time, he strongly believed that he was on their tail. He believed that since he had left so soon, he would be able to confront Daitaro before he boarded the ship bound for Hong Kong.

That is, if everything went according to plan.

Yakushime was located just off of the coast of Kyushu, a small island that was separated from the four main islands. It was filled with very beautiful forests, and had only one town that survived there.

A small shipping port had been established on the southwest corner of the island near the town. Hundreds of ships passed through here every single day. The boats' purposes varied: sometimes they were tourist boats; sometimes they were fishermen, but most times they were cargo boats delivering items that otherwise could not be taken to Tokyo.

Black Jack had never been to Yakushime, but he had managed to find the shipyard pretty quickly. It was a lively place. There were several ships that were docked, floating breezily in the water. Sailors rushed back and forth, and there were crowds of people just walking all around. Machinery wheeled around at relatively brisk paces, carrying loads of boxes from here to there. Black Jack had parked his car off to the side of the road and had taken his suitcase, and then proceeded onwards.

He kept his eyes peeled for any signs of Daitaro, and any men that appeared to be dressed in suits. He saw none, but was still cautious. They could be hiding—after all, at this point, Daitaro knew that he was after him.

Black Jack went over to a small bait shop that advertised in their window that they sold tickets for boat rides. He entered the dingy little shop and approached the cashier immediately.

"Hello," Black Jack said, "I was wondering if there were any ships that were bound for Hong Kong?"

"Hong Kong?" the man mumbled, blinking. "Wouldn't it be easier to just take a plane sir?"

"Please. It's important."

"Alright, alright, hold on… let me check the logs."

The cashier turned around and picked up a folder and started leafing through it, and pulled out a chart that had several little names scribbled into it. He grabbed a pen and then circled a couple of items, and passed it over to Black Jack.

"There is a ship that is docked here, but will soon leave for Hong Kong," the cashier explained. "And also there is a private ship that was scheduled to leave around fifteen minutes ago—"

"—Fifteen minutes!" Black Jack exclaimed, almost instantly breaking into a cold sweat.

He turned and rushed out the door, and surveyed the seas before him. He saw that there was a boat, floating away in the distance, too far to catch at this point. It was definitely a large yacht of some sort. On it, Black Jack could see the distinct heavy bodied figures of Daitaro's body guards. He gritted his teeth and cursed, banging his fist into the shop's wall.

The cashier stepped out nervously and said, "Um, sir? Did you really have to get to Hong Kong? Because um, that ship was reserved for a few gentlemen, so you wouldn't have been able to get on anyways if you didn't have permission—"

"—What about the other ship?" Black Jack demanded. "Could I board that one?"

"It's a cargo ship, sir," the cashier replied meekly. "I doubt that you could unless you asked a member of the crew."

_Damn! _Black Jack thought furiously. _Taking a plane at this point wouldn't help me none! I had to follow them directly! Otherwise I don't know where Daitaro is going next other than Hong Kong!_

He scuffled along, now feeling truly defeated, and his mind was whirling around in circles. What could he do now? He had missed his one chance to confront Daitaro by a margin of fifteen minutes. The chances of meeting him again were probably slim to none. He couldn't just wander around Hong Kong aimlessly—it would most likely end up to be a waste of time.

He walked towards the shoreline, and sighed heavily, images of Pinoko and Yukia floating into his mind. He missed them deeply. He wanted to hear their voices. He wanted to be able to wake up the next day and be in his house, and be kissed by Pinoko and then have Yukia's feet come stampeding down the hallway… He wanted his revenge.

"_Black Jack! Doctor Black Jack!_"

Black Jack's eyebrows narrowed. The voice sounded awfully familiar, and soft and higher pitched… He turned around and saw a young man standing there, his black hair curling around his ears and his horn rimmed glasses reflecting the sunlight off of their lenses.

Except this was not a man. This was a young woman.

This was Kisaragi.

She stared at him in disbelief, a warm smile spreading across her face as she hurried up to him. She took his hand and shook it firmly.

"Doctor! How've you been?"

"Better, Kisaragi." He didn't even bother to smile.

Her face fell. "Is there something wrong?"

"You could say that… I'm trying to make it to Hong Kong and the boat that I was trying to board…" he pointed to the horizon. "…Just left."

She blinked a couple of times and then smiled. "Oh, is that it? Well I believe that the ship I'm on is bound for Hong Kong. If you want you could catch a ride with us."

"Really?" his eyebrows rose.

"Yes, yes of course! I can manage to do you a favor," she told him jokingly. "Here, let me show you to the ship."

They walked back, and while Kisaragi looked like she was near bursting on things that she wanted to say to him (after all it had been five years since she had last seen him, and that was for him and Pinoko's wedding), she kept it in because he seemed haunted by something.

They boarded the large cargo ship and Kisaragi showed him the way to her quarters. Her cabin was off to the left of her practice, which was meager in equipment but relatively large in size. The beds had been stripped down and had been freshly replaced, and everything looked perfectly sterilized.

"Doctor," she said, letting him into her cabin, "why do you need to go to Hong Kong anyways?"

"It's a long story," he said hoarsely, sitting down on the edge of a bed, "but Pinoko… and Yukia… he was our son… were killed by a member of the Jaakuna Gyangu."

"The Jaakuna Gyangu?" her eyes widened to the size of saucers at the recognition of the name. "Oh my God. Pinoko…?"

"Yes. Dead. They blew up my house when I couldn't save the brother of the leader, Daitaro Usami."

She put both hands over her mouth and looked very grim. If Kisaragi were still claiming to be a woman, she probably would have cried for him. But though her eyes were red and slightly wet, she did not cry.

"Black Jack… I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," he grumbled in response. "But I'm after him, and that's why I need to get to Hong Kong as soon as possible."

"We'll be leaving in five minutes. How soon had the boat left?"

"It had left about fifteen minutes ago."

"We should be able to catch up to them by the time that they're docking at least," Kisaragi assured him firmly, smacking her fist into the palm of her hand. "We wouldn't be able to encounter them on the seas, but… we could keep a close watch."

She stood up from where she had been sitting on the chair in the corner. "In fact, I could ask the captain to keep an eye out for any boats headed our way. He's an awfully good tracker—retired from the military years ago."

Black Jack was surprised at how determined that Kisaragi seemed. She had always been quiet, and reserved, but now, it seemed like his misery was actually going to spark something into her personality.

"Black Jack, I promise that I will help you as best I can," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "After what you did for me…"

He smiled gently, the memories of their youth flooding back to his mind: her former beauty, their unrequited love for one another, their first and only kiss… and the day when Kisaragi had announced that she was going to leave for the boat… He had been heartbroken that she wouldn't be around him. But he would get over it in time. And in fact, his love for her had been scraps compared to what he had felt for Pinoko.

"Kei…" he addressed her by her first name; her new name. "Thank you."

_A/N: Woot! Another drama bomb has been dropped! Hope you enjoy this chapter. After this it's four more chapters to the end… so things are going to get pretty exciting! (I hope that everything that I wrote about Kisaragi was relatively accurate… there's so little information on her…) And so anyways, R&R and thank you!_


	17. Chapter 17: Showdown

**Chapter Seventeen**

The wind whipped around rambunctiously as the cargo ship prevailed on. The sky had taken to showering them with rain and hail, and the seas were incredibly rough. Outside the thunder rumbled loudly, its grim laughter shaking the sides of the boat.

Black Jack sat in Kisaragi's cabin, holding a glass of scotch. It had been a couple of hours since they left port. It would take them at the very least twelve hours to reach Hong Kong. Kisaragi had explained the situation to the captain, and the captain had set the engines at full speed ahead. It was the most that they could do for now.

"You don't know how much I appreciate this," Black Jack said to Kisaragi, turning his head to look at her. "I'm serious—this guy has had me running all over Japan."

"What are you going to do once you see him?"

Black Jack stroked his chin slightly, and his eyes narrowed as he started to think of a plan. "I don't know. But I'll think about it. I don't think I'll kill him…"

"Really?" Kisaragi exclaimed, surprised.

"Yes. I can think of better punishments. See, if I killed him, he could rid himself of the guilt. Of the pain. I want him to suffer the longest that he possibly can," Black Jack said darkly, his voice a growl.

Kisaragi lowered her head, almost afraid to look at him. He set down his glass of scotch, and pressed his hands together.

"You see, Daitaro's not really the only one behind this, as I've already said… That person I may kill. But I don't like to get my hands dirty at the same time."

"…But didn't you say that you brought a gun?"

He raised his eyebrows, looking at her. "Oh? Oh that's right. I did. I originally just had it to kill him… but now I realize that I could use it for protection, and I also want to formulate a better plan."

A silence passed over, and they listened to the storm outside. Kisaragi then, after being deep in thought, smiled at him.

"You know. You've… you've changed quite a bit." Kisaragi said softly. "The way that you talk about Pinoko… and Yukia, too… the way that you feel for them…"

"Yes. I know. I've discovered this too." He nodded.

"It's funny," she said, "because I never thought that you would become the type of man that… would want that kind of thing. When we were… together, I doubt that having a future with me ever crossed your mind."

He smiled at her. "Well we were very young back then."

"Yes… so young…" she recalled, murmuring. He remembered how she had worried that when she woke up, he wouldn't love her anymore… and how he had kissed her and said that the moment was going to last forever.

But the bitter truth is that young love doesn't last forever, and the two of them should have known better. Yet, the experience had provided her with some nice memories.

"Well," she said, getting up and walking over to her bed, which was actually a bunk bed, "I'm going to go to sleep. You can take the bottom bunk if you like."

"Thanks… I think I will get some sleep." He took off his cloak and climbed into the bottom bunk of the bed.

And for the first time in a long time he actually slept relatively peaceful.

The morning came and with it, a view of Hong Kong's harbor. Kisaragi and Black Jack were awoken early by a sailor, who rushed them up to the deck to show them that they were there.

Black Jack had his suitcase in hand, and he gripped it, flexing his fingers around the handle. He stared determinedly, scanning the area for the yacht that had just slipped from his sight the previous day.

"There," Black Jack said suddenly, extending a finger. "There's the yacht!"

He saw the yacht that was already positioned next to a dock. Kisaragi spotted it too, and she turned to him.

"We've got a lifeboat that we could borrow," she told him, twisting around. "It would get you there faster."

"That would be perfect. Thank you Kisaragi."

The lens of her glasses flashed. "I'm coming with you."

"What…?" he said in disbelief, turning to her.

She smirked. "I think that I could handle myself, Dr. Black Jack. After all, I'm not the same woman that you used to know."

"Woman…?" a sailor mumbled in disbelief, and then the two had run off to go find the lifeboat.

They reached the shore within five minutes, and while they were slightly soaked with the ocean's salty water, it had not stopped them at all. Kisaragi panted a little from all the rough rowing and she looked up at Black Jack as he exited the lifeboat.

"Thank you," he said, casting a smile over his shoulder. "But this is where I leave you."

"I said I was coming with you—"

"—this is my revenge alone, Kisaragi," he told her firmly. "Thank you… but we must part here."

She saw his shadowy black figure stalking away then, and she was speechless. Then she stood up, and dusted the sand off of her pants. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out after him.

"Doctor! Be careful, okay?"

He stopped, and smiled again, nodding. Then wordlessly, he turned around again and took off.

He caught sight of one of Daitaro's henchmen in the crowd, and Black Jack's hand moved for the pistol that he kept concealed beneath his cloak. As the people cleared away, he saw that Daitaro was being led over to a set of black cars. Black Jack gritted his teeth and summoned up the courage to call out to him.

"_DAITARO USAMI!" _he bellowed out at him.

Daitaro glanced over his shoulder, and he bared his teeth at Black Jack. Though he turned around and tried to charge towards him, the henchmen wrestled him into one of the cars and it took off. Black Jack stopped a taxi that was passing by, and he forcefully removed the driver from it, and then took off at a high speed.

One of the men leaned out of the window and started firing a rifle at him. The bullets cracked and dented the glass heavily, but Black Jack took out his pistol and fired back. He aimed for one of the tires, and the bullet caused it to have a blowout.

The car screeched and skidded before making an erratic right turn towards what looked like a junkyard. It careened through the high barbed wire fence and hurtled towards a warehouse in the distance. Black Jack sharply steered and the tires of the car shrieked, and he chased after them.

One of the men had removed Daitaro from the car and was rushing him into the warehouse. The other with the rifle started randomly firing rounds off at Black Jack. The bullets ricocheted in a half circle from the left front of the car to the roof to the other side. Black Jack winced, and then he leaned out the window and fired his pistol. The man's hand seemed to explode and he roared furiously, collapsing to the ground with his bleeding hand, unable to hold the rifle any longer. Black Jack climbed out of the car and rushed forward. With a swift kick, he moved the rifle out of the man's way and fired a bullet into his leg.

He headed into the building, and was greeted by empty nothingness. The warehouse, spare for a couple of random metal barrels, was completely empty. A watery black darkness draped over the south of the room.

"DAITARO!" he bellowed furiously. "Come out from where you're hiding! Daitaro!"

"I am Kyobona!" Daitaro suddenly emerged from the darkness, and he charged at Black Jack, carrying a sharp knife.

Black Jack dodged the hit, and cuffed Daitaro over the head with the heel of the pistol. The henchman tried to jump him from behind, but he fired a round into his leg, and the man fell back. Daitaro was on his knees now, and he reached for his knife once again, but Black Jack grabbed it and tucked it away.

"You…" Black Jack snarled, surveying the man.

He was a young man, certainly. He had slicked back black hair, with oddly pale blue eyes, and his face was riddled with what could be both acne scars and signs of drug abuse.

"You killed my family." He crouched down to the man's level. "You realize that, don't you? You _killed _my wife. You _killed _my son. A five year old boy. _Murdered_ them both. What kind of sick bastard are you?"

"The one that won," Daitaro retorted, spitting a wad of blood onto one of Black Jack's shoes.

Black Jack pressed the pistol to his head. "You better tell me right now who put you up to this."

"No. Never. No one did. Ronny would have wanted me to," he babbled now, his eyes widening and shrinking at a rapid rate. He finished, "Since you killed him."

"Oh?" Black Jack removed a long coil of rope and lashed Daitaro's wrists and ankles together. He did the same to the henchman in the corner after applying anesthesia.

Then he left the building.

Daitaro didn't remember how long it seemed that he was suspended in darkness, listening to the sound of his henchman snore through his drug induced sleep. But he heard it. The distinct sound of his brother's voice. He saw him, standing there in the doorway of the warehouse.

"Brother!" tears instantly flooded to Daitaro's eyes. "Oh Ronny!"

Ronny approached him, but his face was blank. Daitaro started talking rapidly, excitedly.

"Ronny, did you kill the doctor? I hope you did, Ronny. That guy was nuts! Coming in here and tying me up like this… Ronny, you're okay aren't you? Who fixed up your gunshot wound, Ronny?"

Ronny said nothing. Daitaro's happiness faltered. Ronny stepped into the light.

And then removed his mask.

Daitaro let out a horrified scream, tears shooting from his eyes, as he recoiled and wriggled on the floor uncontrollably, almost as if he was having a seizure. Black Jack threw the mask to the ground, and the wig as well.

"Someone has tricked you Daitaro. With a trick as simple as that," Black Jack told him sternly, standing over his spastic body. "And they've probably taken away the people that you and I both love."

Daitaro was sobbing, his voice a low moan as he repeated, "Ronny… Ronny…"

Black Jack gritted his teeth. He might be broken at this point. He jumped at the sound of a slow clapping that was coming from behind him. He turned around and his eyes widened at what he saw.

There was Shou Usami, sitting in his wheelchair that was positioned in the doorway. Shou chuckled darkly, drawing a hand to his mouth.

"Oh boy you are more clever than I give you credit for. When we tried to lose you in Yakushime, I guess that didn't work too well did it?"

"Shou… you…?"

"Yes. Me. Haven't you heard of the saying not to judge a book by its cover?" Shou clucked his tongue and waggled his finger. Then Black Jack suddenly recognized it.

Shou's voice back in Kyoto had been softer, lighter. The voice that Shou was speaking in now wasn't—it was the voice of _Kyobona, _of Daitaro.

It had been Shou all along. Daitaro had had nothing to do with this. He was just a pawn.

"So what? You're not really crippled?" Black Jack demanded.

"Oh yes, I'm crippled… and incredibly rich." Shou smirked, wheeling in. "See, Daitaro's love for his brother is quite similar to the love that my brother had for me. Except, I never returned the love that my brother gave me.

"Years ago… that accident that severed my spinal cord? Their father and I were playing out in the road. It was his idea, not mine… and when the ball careened suddenly out of our path, he had tried to go after it… but I caught up to the ball. And then my life was over."

Shou's mouth was set in a thin line, his eyes glazed. "I was the older brother. I was the favorite back then. I was the one that was going to grow up and go onto college… to get out of Kyoto was one of my greatest dreams. And it was taken from me just like that. My parents paid for his college instead of mine. So he had to pay, don't you understand? The whole family had to pay.

"My brother supplied me with money for the rest of my life. I of course used it against him. I assembled a team of suited men, and when the boys came of age, I realized how easily that Daitaro could be manipulated… see Ronny was like me. Ronny was smart. And the smart ones have to die. So I arranged his death.

"From then on I realized that I could use Daitaro's persona and body to my advantage… I decided that I wanted power. I was going to grow. I was going to take my hold over this world." Shou reached a wispy hand beneath his robe and withdrew a gun.

"Why did you kill the other doctors?" Black Jack shouted furiously. "Why?"

"To make it look like Daitaro had arranged for their deaths… and also, because I am just simply not a very nice man." He smiled tightly. "Those doctors, just like you, Black Jack, charged rather expensive fees to save a couple of lowly doppelgangers… which they didn't follow through on."

Black Jack was horrified. He took a couple of steps back. Shou remained where he was.

"But now it looks like my little escapade has come to an end," he said, the corners of his mouth twisting downwards. "Oh well… at least I'm taking you down with me."

He fired a couple of rounds into the barrels, and gasoline started leaking out. He shot Black Jack and the hand that had been holding the gun. Shou ripped open his robe further and revealed that he had explosives strapped to him. He pulled a couple of the cords, and a timer with digital numbers starting rapidly counting down. Two minutes…

Black Jack glanced over at Daitaro, who looked back at Black Jack with terrified eyes. Black Jack realized that he was not going to be able to save him. He would barely get out alive himself.

Black Jack picked up his gun and fired once with his good hand, so that Shou could no longer hold his gun. Shou hardly flinched. He was now chanting something in a foreign, other worldly tongue… prayers for the departed. Every now and then he stopped and cackled hysterically, oblivious to the fact that his hand had a gaping bloody hole in it.

The beeping on the timer became more rapid and Black Jack started crawling, inching along the ground, till finally he had reached the outside. Once out there, he managed to get to his feet and stumble out towards the vehicle.

And then, just as on that night that was not too long ago, he witnessed a terrifying explosion that set fire to the whole sky.

_A/N: So BJ has saved the day, right? But… there's still more! _


	18. Chapter 18: Heart Beat

**Chapter Eighteen**

The Hong Kong police and fire trucks quickly arrived to the scene of the burning building. In a blur, just as on that night, Black Jack watched as the fire was put out, and bodies were recovered from the remains of the building. He saw the mangled body of Shou Usami, hanging together by threads, being hauled out to a black body bag. He also saw Daitaro, who was actually still alive.

Black Jack immediately got up and rushed over to Daitaro. His hair had been burned away, and his forehead was scalding. One side of his face was completely dismantled and a complete mess. Daitaro's one icy blue eye stared up pleadingly at Black Jack, begging.

"I'm a doctor," Black Jack said to one of the ambulance workers. "I'll accompany you to the hospital and perform the surgery."

He was a little surprised himself at why he was doing this. Wasn't Daitaro one of the reasons behind the death of his wife and child? Indirectly, yes… But Daitaro, who was obviously mentally ill, didn't deserve this kind of ending to his short life.

The very least that Black Jack could do was attempt to save him. And if he did end up dying, Black Jack wouldn't have very many regrets.

Daitaro was put under immediately once he was in the operating room, and also had to be put on bypass. His entire body was covered with third degree burns, and he required multiple skin grafts, and blood transfusions. If Shou Usami hadn't died such a horrible death, then his body would have sufficed for the transplants that were required. But luckily the henchman that had also been in the warehouse was able to provide some of what was needed.

Bits of shrapnel were lodged everywhere in his body. One of the aortas of his heart was damaged. Black Jack worked under the blinding, hot operating room lights, his scalpel cutting and his hands suturing the wounds, instructing with a shout in his voice to apply medicine to the IV or to hand him a tool.

After eighteen hours in surgery, Daitaro Usami was finally repaired. Black Jack stared down at the man that mirrored himself when he was a young boy, and smiled, satisfied. He had multiple scars running up and down his body, and some of the skin where he had been burned could not be replaced, so the doctors here would have to attend to that.

When Black Jack exited the operation room, instead of being able to sleep, a few members of the Japanese police approached him, arrested him, and then took him on the long route back to Yakushime…

Black Jack hadn't done anything wrong except be at the scene of a violent crime… and also shot a couple of people. But after explaining his situation to the police and after the police had talked with Mr. Takahashi, Black Jack was able to be bailed out.

"Who bailed me out?" Black Jack demanded, raising his head to look at the policeman.

The man shrugged, pushing back the iron barred door. "Don't know. But he's outside waiting for you."

Black Jack blinked in confusion and then was escorted out of the building by the policeman. Underneath the light of the bright sun, he saw the figure of Kiriko, standing with his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"Kiriko…" he narrowed his eyes. "How did you know I was here?"

"It's all over the Japanese media… famous surgeon brought down a shady organization," Kiriko said with a happy smile drawing across his face. "You're quite a hero, you know, to a lot of people."

"Huh. Never thought I'd see the day when people would recognize me as a hero. Why did you bail me out?"

"Can't we just cooperate together, doctor to doctor?"

Black Jack arched a skeptic brow. "Not really. You and I don't see eye to eye on a lot of things."

He walked up to Kiriko, and then they started walking down the sidewalk away from the station. Kiriko glanced over at Black Jack. As soon as they had heard the news on the radio, he had gotten into his boat and drove off to Yakushime. It hadn't taken him very long… his boat was incredibly fast.

"So, where are you going to go now?"

"Home."

"Are you going to rebuild it?"

"Most likely," Black Jack said. "Look, Kiriko, I appreciate what you did, but I'm also confused by it and I don't necessarily trust you a whole lot. So…"

"Oh I see how it is. You say you appreciate me, but then you race off for home without even bothering to have a conversation with me…" he chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "Oh well. I suppose I'll leave you."

He reached into his pant pocket again and withdrew a small little box. He took Black Jack's hand, and placed the box in it.

"See ya." Kiriko crossed the street, his hair whipping in the wind as he turned around.

Black Jack watched him go, and then he looked down at the box. He opened it, and then gaped.

In it, lying underneath a small cloth was the diamond wedding ring that Pinoko had.

"Pinoko." He whispered, his eyes widening.

He glanced up, and then saw Kiriko's figure turning the corner of the street. Black Jack pocketed the box and then quickly bound after him.

"Kiriko!" he yelled out, and Kiriko turned around to face him, smiling.

"What the hell is this? How did you get your hands on this?" Black Jack was trying not to be overwhelmed with emotion, but it was so hard.

Kiriko placed a hand on Black Jack's shoulder and nodded, the smile not leaving his face. "All I have to say is that… they're waiting for you."

Kiriko then motioned for Black Jack to follow, and Black Jack eagerly did.

It took them half a day to return to the island that Kiriko was staying on. Black Jack was in a dazed entrapment, drifting in and out of much needed sleep. Kiriko drove the boat, not speaking to Black Jack the whole time.

Finally when they had reached the island and had docked, Black Jack turned to speak to Kiriko. Kiriko was tying up the boat, and Black Jack looked anxious. Kiriko raised his head, blinked, and then gestured for him to move forward.

Black Jack crossed the beach that was in front of the colonial house, which he could see hidden back behind the trees. He walked along the ocean shore, listening to the waves, and then he spotted something odd on the ground. Little footprints.

Black Jack raised his head and looked towards the house, and he saw that under a gateway just on the line between the beach and forest there was a little boy, clinging to one of the posts. Black Jack felt the tears flood to his eyes. He saw the little boy fling himself from the gateway, bounding towards him on his little thin legs.

"Papa!" Yukia cried out, and Black Jack picked him up.

He hugged the boy to his chest, feeling like he wanted to cry, but Yukia was crying already.

"Papa, Papa, I missed you!" he cried, burying his face in his father's shoulder.

Black Jack nodded and his voice hoarse. He couldn't even speak. He felt so happy that it was beyond words.

He looked at his son. Yukia had grown a little taller from when he had last seen him. Yukia's eyes were shining with tears and joy as he stared back into his father's face.

"…How…?" Black Jack whispered, ruffling his hair.

"It's a secret!" Yukia said with a laugh, pressing a finger to his lips.

"Oh is it?"

"Kiriko told me to tell you that," Yukia said with a giggle.

Black Jack, laughing, scooped up Yukia and hugged him once more. His son, his son! This was too good to be true. Then he remembered. And he set Yukia down and looked at him with concerned eyes.

"Papa?" Yukia was confused.

Black Jack turned around to look back towards the house, and he noticed, that walking with slow, careful steps, was Pinoko. She was wearing a lilac sundress, and the breeze blew her hair and skirt around carelessly. She looked as beautiful as she had ever been.

Yukia smiled then, seeing his mother, and nodded to his father as if to confirm that this was not an illusion. Black Jack turned and ran towards her. She ran towards him as well. He met her with a soft impact, and lifted her up and swirled her around, drawing her close to his body. He kissed her head multiple times, the tears now running down his face.

"_Chenchei…_" she murmured, laughing, feeling lighter than air. "Welcome home."

He kissed her passionately, and then withdrew the box that contained her wedding ring. She gaped a little.

"I was wondering where that went!" she cried out, as he slipped the ring onto her finger. "Kiriko! You thief!"

Kiriko, who was watching from a distance, shrugged his shoulders and couldn't seem to stop laughing.

"Now we're together again, darling," she said, blushing.

He laughed, and picked up Yukia once again, kissing her, wanting to hold both of them to him as close as possible. This was the single greatest day of his life.

_A/N: This is definitely one of my favorite chapters! n_n So much fun to write. I hope it doesn't come off as too corny... Anyways, there's still more mystery to the story. Two chapters left after this one! R&R as always! _


	19. Chapter 19: Wash Out

_Hey it's me! One more chapter left until the ending… here's hoping you'll like this one!_

**Chapter Nineteen**

They decided that they would not leave the island and return home right away. After all, their house had been destroyed so it seemed kind of pointless. Besides, the weather on the island was finally starting to clear up, and it was feeling nice.

The first night, after Yukia had been put to bed, Black Jack told about his escapades throughout Japan and the grim conclusion that it had come to. When he mentioned Kisaragi or the Black Queen into the story, Pinoko visibly seemed to cringe, her smile faltering.

_Konomi better not try to come around my husband ever again… _she thought warningly as she sipped from a glass of wine.

"It, overall, was a thoroughly exhausting experience, not to mention emotionally draining," Black Jack announced, leaning back against the sofa. He yawned, stretching.

Pinoko, who was sitting next to him, scooted closer towards him and tucked herself beneath his arm.

"That's quite a fascinating tale," Kiriko said, holding up his glass. "Here's to hoping it will hold up in court."

Everyone raised their glasses to that.

Later, when Black Jack was heading up the stairs towards the bedroom that he would share with Pinoko, Kiriko silently pulled her aside.

"You're going to tell him, aren't you?" Kiriko said with his eyes narrowed. "He's your doctor—he knows all that there is to know about your body. I don't."

"No," she said adamantly. "He shouldn't know."

"That is quite a huge risk you're taking," Kiriko mumbled knowingly, watching as she walked up the stairs after her husband.

She headed into the bedroom, where he had already crawled into the bed, and looked to have fallen asleep. She smiled tenderly, standing over him. She stroked her hand over his mismatched white and black hair. He mumbled something, but couldn't move.

She changed into her nightgown and slid into bed beside him with a content smile. She kissed him once, and murmured into his ear.

"I love you, honey."

Then she rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes. As time passed, she felt him stir behind her, and then he told her that he loved her too.

They spent the next few days on the island peacefully, happily. They practically lived on the shore of the beach, swimming and playing in the water, and for one day they fished, and then at night gathering in the big room in the center of the house and talking over food and drinks rambunctiously.

But somehow Black Jack could sense some sort of tension hanging between Pinoko and Kiriko. And Pinoko, she seemed awfully tight lipped whenever he asked her if something had happened. He was starting to think that the worse had occurred in his absence. But then he dismissed it, thinking, no, Pinoko wasn't like that.

One night Pinoko finally let her guard down and drifted upstairs to bed without waiting for Black Jack. He lingered behind, standing around with Kiriko. Then when she was out of sight, he turned to him and started his interrogation.

"Kiriko, what happened on the island here when I was gone?"

Kiriko was stupefied, and he tilted his head to one side. After a minute then he laughed lightly, and shook his head.

"As sharp as always," he commented. "Black Jack."

"Pinoko isn't telling me anything. So," Black Jack said, taking on a sort of offensive tone, "tell me what you did to her?"

"Did to her? I did nothing lewd to your wife, Doctor. In fact, I saved her."

"Saved her from what?"

"The answer to that is buried a couple of feet beneath the dirt in the back of the house, marked with a couple of stones."

Black Jack's eyes widened and he felt his blood run cold. "W-what?..."

Kiriko then turned on his heel and headed down the hallway, refusing to address it anymore. Black Jack stood there, horrified, and then he started what seemed like an eternal climb up the stairs. When he entered the bedroom, he saw Pinoko sitting there brushing out her long auburn hair.

"It took you a while," she commented with a faint smile on her lips.

He shut the door behind him and leaned against it, crossing his arms.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a miscarriage?"

Pinoko's eyes widened in fear and she looked like she was going to break out in a cold sweat.

"Did… Did Kiriko…"

"Pinoko. That doesn't matter."

"Yes it does! That wasn't supposed to be…"

"What? You weren't supposed to tell me? Your husband?" he demanded furiously. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"

She spread her hands helplessly, her mouth suddenly dry, as if forming words was difficult. "I didn't think it mattered! I didn't want to dredge up something sad—"

"—You could have faced afterbirth complications," he said sharply. "You should have told me—  
>"<p>

"And you wouldn't be upset?" she shot back, throwing off the covers and getting out of the bed. "Really? You wouldn't blame it on me?"

"No," Black Jack said, softening. "I would never have blamed anything on you, Pinoko. That was out of your control."

She crossed her arms and looked down at her feet. "Kiriko looked me over anyways, and he's a doctor. He said that I was fine. I wanted to put it behind me."

She glanced back up at him, her eyes looking red rimmed and tears spilling out of them. "But thank you, darling, for bringing it up again."

She marched out of the room past him, and let the door shut with a slam.


	20. Chapter 20: A Good Man

_Hello, hello! Well this is my last author's note. It's so sad, but it's also kind of exciting because I finished it. So yay! This chapter is probably the most OOC that it's been in the whole story, but I hope that it's still enjoyable. It's a chapter that's been combined with an epilogue, because I want to talk about how things ended up a few months after they left the island… But now I believe recognition should be accounted for, and so I'll take the time to do so! _

_Special thanks to: _

_Esplandian: You were my very first supporter with my Black Jack fanfics, and you also taught me about some of the lingo that I didn't quite understand. You also were helpful in pointing out some things that were useful, and I credit you for also helping the characters, well, stay in character. Thanks for saying that my fanfics were some of the best in this section. So, in conclusion, thank you very much! _

_Phoenixofdarkness62: Your reviews were always helpful and much appreciated. I loved how you specifically commented on the storyline, and your reviews always were related to the story, and hearing how "excited" you were for the next chapter really got me excited to write the next chapter! Thank you so much!_

_Dr. Jin Love: Yes, you get accredited too! XD Thanks for saying that you enjoyed the fanfic and for saying that I kept the characters in character a lot of the time. I also watched that episode of Black Jack I was looking for… so cute! Thanks for your help and just thank you overall!_

_Thank you to anyone else that read the story. _

_Now that my tribute to my most awesome reviewers and my readers is done, on with the story. There probably won't be another sequel to this, and I'm probably not going to be around for a while, so for now, goodbye!_

_And R&R as well, thank you very much! _

**Chapter Twenty**

At the end of the week, they finally decided that they would return home. Pinoko was rather distant now, just sort of drifting along and not really focusing in. She was still rattled by their conversation a few nights previous, he could tell.

He went out to visit the grave the next morning. It was just a small one, one that someone could probably put a shoebox in. His mind started racing as he stared at it. This was what Pinoko had wanted, and yet at the same time, not what she had wanted.

How had she miscarried? He had always assumed that if this kind of thing were to happen, then she would go the full nine months, and the only major problem would come prior to labor and post labor. He could only conclude that the stress of him not being there was enough to really damage things. He couldn't think of any other explanation… He was slightly irritated by the fact that he had been right.

He also thought back to how far along she had been: around four months, he guessed. She probably didn't even know for a while… he hadn't known or even suspected it. Guilt came rushing back to him of their conversation, but now looking at this grave, his guilt also came from this feeling that he had abandoned her. Right when she had needed him most.

Now it was the last day that they were going to be on the island. They were busy packing up, everyone in the house… Kiriko would leave it behind, and he had decided that he was going to go try and live closer to the Hazama family. Yukia had grown quite fond of his "pirate uncle" and was sort of attached to him. Selma the maid would also leave the island and go look for work elsewhere. The island home would be put up for sale.

Black Jack entered the bedroom that he shared with Pinoko. She was busy packing up their clothes, and this time, instead of untidily shoving them all in, she was taking the time to fold them delicately and set them in gently.

"Would you like help?" he asked her, approaching her from behind.

"No," she said crisply. "No thank you, I'm fine."

"Pinoko…" he sighed heavily. "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"How many times are you going to bring it up?" she demanded, turning around to face him. "Honestly, honey? I want to forget about it. I really do. I want to put it behind me—"

"—Pinoko! That's not healthy at all," he told her firmly, grasping both of her hands. "I'm worried about you!"

She stopped, seeing the concern swimming in his blood red eyes, and she relaxed a little.

"You keep saying that you want to forget something that was traumatic to you physically and mentally. You can't forget something like that, Pinoko! You can't just push it aside like that! I don't care if you're trying to do it for me, or for Yukia, but you need to think of yourself for once!"

Her eyes welled with tears. "I told you I was fine."

"You're not fine, honey. You're not fine at all." He pulled her close and she did start to cry. "I know you. You try to push it aside for the sake of other people. You try to think of others first before yourself. But that… that kind of selflessness can actually put a toll on you."

"I know, I know." She sniffled. "But I really want to forget it, I really do, I can't… I can't… Not when I…"

She cried a little more, and eventually, she stopped shaking long enough till she could speak.

"You know… Kiriko said it was a girl. I… I saw her. She was just this little thing… not even a person… she never got the chance…" Pinoko shook her head. "But I couldn't have had her anyways, could I? She would have ended me."

"She probably would have, unfortunately."

"And I kept telling myself that I had Yukia. I had Yukia, and why should I be crying over her when I've got a son right now?... But the more that… I try to forget… even though I want to… the more it hurts."

"You don't have to forget." He pushed back a strand of her hair and kissed her forehead softly. "You don't have to forget."

The day to leave the island soon came, and instead of using Kiriko's nice boat, they actually called in a ship from the mainland to take them back to Honshu. Black Jack and Pinoko took a little time in the morning to gather at the gravesite.

"Should we move her?" Pinoko asked, looking at him. "I mean, she'll be on this island all by herself…"

"We can if you want to," Black Jack said, nodding, his eyes focused on the little stone marker. "But we have to go now. We can come back another time, don't worry."

She bit her lip and nodded. He kissed her and then they turned around and walked back to the shore, where the others were waiting for them.

"Mama?" Yukia was confused when she had approached. "Mama, what's wrong?"

She exhaled a little, trying to regain her composure. Black Jack touched his shoulder and gave him a look that said, not now, but later.

The boat then arrived and they boarded it, and returned home.

_Epilogue_

Yukia ran along the shoreline, sprinting as fast as he possibly could. His already tattered bookbag was slung over one shoulder as he hurried to get home. He passed by the small shack that served as his uncle's house, and quickly made a beeline for the spot.

"Uncle Kiriko!" he called out, knocking on the door.

"Eh, is that you, Yukia?" he opened the door and saw an excited Yukia standing there, holding up a paper that had a big red check mark on it.

"I passed my test! I received a 1!" He did a little dance. "And it was my science test, too!"

Kiriko chuckled with amusement. "Aren't you going to go home to show your parents?"

"Well I had to thank you first," Yukia said, nodding his head and suddenly looking sort of serious. "After all, Papa has had more and more patients than ever with all the media coverage on that court case. You helped me study."

"And I'll be glad to do it again," Kiriko said with a smile.

"Well, see you later!" Yukia gave a little bow and then turned around and continued his jog up the cliff towards the house.

It had been rebuilt the same way it was before, except the surgery room had new equipment and the patients' area was a little larger. Yukia smelled the salty sea air as he came up the path, and he saw his mother hanging up his bed sheets in the breeze.

"Hi, Mama!" he called out.

She waved to him and he came up to her, showing her the paper.

"Oh, good job!" she said happily, her eyes shining. "That's very good Yukia!"

"Do you think Papa will let me perform a couple of surgeries with him now?"

"I don't know, you'll have to ask him," Pinoko said, placing her hands on her hips. "And don't be trying to take my job, Yukia!"

Yukia laughed as she ruffled his hair. "I wouldn't do that, Mama."

Black Jack then came out of the house, accompanied by an elderly woman that was his current patient. She had some sort of odd liver problems coming on.

"…Continue to take your medication, and then come back in two days for another check up," he told her. "Generally I don't do this, but because of your grandson's birthday…"

"Oh yes, thank you Doctor," she told him, smiling as she climbed into her car.

She then drove away. Black Jack came down and greeted Yukia, who once again presented the test.

"She's going to have to have a liver transplant," Black Jack said to Pinoko. "The cirrhosis is just starting to affect her, but because of the party, we'll have to put it off for two days."

"Okay. Are you going to contact members of her family to see if they could possibly donate half of theirs?"

"Of course I am. I'm not just about to put her on a waiting list," he said with a grin. "She's already paid her fee in full."

They then heard an odd _put-put-put _sound of a car coming up the drive, and they turned to see a small white van coming up. They parked in the center of the road, and then a woman climbed out. She went to the other side, and then helped a man out. He was young, hunched over and had scars all over… Black Jack's eyes widened.

"Daitaro?" he mumbled in disbelief.

The woman started leading the man up the path, who looked up at Black Jack and gave a beaming smile.

"Doctor," he said. "You… are… Doctor… Black… Jack…?"

He spoke like a person that had been affected by a stroke—with small broken words that had been carefully formulated. Black Jack nodded cautiously. The woman looked up at him and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Fuyumi," she said, extending her hand, and he shook it. "I work at a mental hospital in Osaka. Daitaro was transferred there."

"What brings you here? No problems I hope?"

"No, no… he just wanted to thank you."

Daitaro looked at Black Jack with large glossy eyes. "After… what… Uncle… did… I… never…"

"Say no more," he answered, holding up his hand. "It's not really something that I need to be thanked for. You're not to blame."

"I… still… feel… like… I… am…" he answered, lowering his head. "So… I… came… to… pay… you… back…"

He handed him a stack of money, from a large coin purse that he was carrying, and passed it over to him. It was 100,000 yen. Not very much, but it was better than nothing.

"My… girlfriend… she… helped… pay… too… she… also… wanted… to say… thank… you…"

Black Jack, though slightly reluctant, accepted the money. He nodded, smiling a little. Daitaro, eyeing him now, spread his mouth and smiled back. Then he turned wordlessly and started heading back towards the van. They climbed in, and the family watched as they drove away.

"You took the money, huh?" Pinoko asked.

"He went to all of that trouble to collect it," Black Jack answered. "How could I not?"

Pinoko smiled, and then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're a good man, Black Jack."

_The End_


End file.
